EU Hearing 'Many Concerns' About Potential Anticompetitive Issues With Apple Pay

[Mtmspa]

No excuse for Apple saying they are the only ones allowed to access the hardware feature.

It's anti-consumer. Though at least in this case you can understand Apple doing it out of greed. Them locking their customers out of using the bluetooth chip in HomePods to stream music is just pure spite.

Nobody said you have to use Apple products. Your choice to use an inferior platform. Apple Pay is not anti consumer. It is consumer friendly because it just works for those of us that want ease of use and security.

why don’t use get an Android and then bitch about samsuck pay being greedy and anti consumer.

 

[DoctorTech]

We are already in the PRSI forum so here is my analogy. I view choosing a mobile phone platform (iOS vs Android vs "other") like voting for a US Presidential candidate. You have candidate "A" with a set of positions on various issues and candidate "B" with a different set of positions on those same issues. It is pretty much a package deal, do you want position set "A" or position set "B"? You can't take one candidates position on taxes and a different candidate's position on healthcare and a 3rd party candidate's position on something else to create your own candidate to vote for - you either vote for "A" or "B" (or throw your vote away voting on a 3rd party candidate who will end up with 0.7% of the vote).

As voters, you vote the candidate who agrees with you on what is most important to you even if they don't agree with you on everything. I vote for Apple over Android because I agree with the VAST majority of what Apple does. If being able to use Google Pay or Walmart Pay is your top issue, then vote Android.

 

[zed1291]

If someone else wants to use an NFC chip inside a mobile phone for payments then they too can create a new phone from the ground up, release thousands of innovative features so that billions of devices will sell, and then they can decide the rules for what is and is not considered a secure use of the device they built.

 

[Mtmspa]

Totally agree with your comment of Apple locking customers/companies out of the using their Bluetooth chip, not just HomePods but all their devices. Yea I know it's Apple's chip, but it still SUCKS.

whiners gonna whine.

 

[DeanL]

**** the EU.

Apple can leave the EU if they're not happy with its law.

 

[Gasu E.]

No excuse for Apple saying they are the only ones allowed to access the hardware feature.

It's anti-consumer. Though at least in this case you can understand Apple doing it out of greed. Them locking their customers out of using the bluetooth chip in HomePods to stream music is just pure spite.

I agree with your general sentiment, but not the negatives about Apple's motivations. It's a lot easier to start off building a closed system that works with limited combinations of things that you control, than an open system that works with all sorts of things you can't control. It made perfect sense for Apple to start out with closed systems in order to deliver a quality solution for customers; but, at some point, when you've achieved wide market acceptance, it's in consumers' interests for you to open things up. iPhone has huge market acceptance, and Apple Pay is well established, so it's time to look at opening that up. It's more important for less mature products that they focus on getting things right, and not so much on maintaining programming interfaces and such for a battery of third parties; that's a real drag on product enhancement and evolution.

 

[DeanL]

If someone else wants to use an NFC chip inside a mobile phone for payments then they too can create a new phone from the ground up, release thousands of innovative features so that billions of devices will sell, and then they can decide the rules for what is and is not considered a secure use of the device they built.

I encourage you to read the law before embarrassing yourself like that. The EU decided that anti-competitive behaviour was not to be tolerated. If Apple wants to sell products there, they have to comply. End of the story.
Other businesses in the EU are complying without whining, so Apple doesn't get a pass.

 

[emmab2006]

**** the EU.

Typical Brexit voter Response!

 

[chfilm]

Jesus, I love the EU in general, but this sounds pretty crazy. The mobile payment market could use some less fragmentation for sure!

 

[justperry]

Nobody said you have to use Apple products. Your choice to use an inferior platform. Apple Pay is not anti consumer. It is consumer friendly because it just works for those of us that want ease of use and security.

why don’t use get an Android and then bitch about samsuck pay being greedy and anti consumer.

It is and anti competitive.

Doesn't mean ApplePay isn't convenient/safe/secure, it is but do open up NFC for others, like a higher security level choice for certain websites.
Where I live there's a government based site to log into, there are security levels, I can't be more secure because my iPhone lacks NFC support for it.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Apple can leave the EU if they're not happy with its law.

Or they can do what they are very happy to do in China...obey local laws and regulations.

 

[applepuree]

Has Google made AndroidPay (or whatever its called) available on IOS? Or maybe better asked, Has Google said they want to make AndroidPay for IOS?

I can use my iPhones NFC to start charging sessions for my EV, so I don't think its completely locked down anymore.

 

[Stella]

I agree 100% with your first statement. But, why shouldn't there be competition among payment methods?

Oh, I see what you mean - to rephrase myself:
One common payment mechanism that allows for multiple payment providers. Like Debit cards - here in Canada they all use the same payment method ( Interac ), but there are many banks providing debt cards.

 

[Mousse]

I don't use Apple Pay. I don't have an iPhone. I have no dog in this fight. Still...

The EU is being ridiculous. Does your MasterCard have to be accepted where VISA is accepted? Does your MC have to have support for your VISA on it's chip? Come on, man.

Where they have a reasonable fight is whether Apple forces App Dev have Apple Pay support in their app and/or website. On that I agree with the EU. That has yet to be determined, so I'm 100% behind Apple in this fight for now.

 

[Jeaz]

Ideally, there would be one standard mobile payment method and everyone follows that, instead of dozens.

Well, the contactless technology that Apple Pay and many others rely on are standard technologies. As long as the card terminal accepts contactless payment, no further work is required by the vendor to make Apple Pay work.

 

[MacLawyer]

I assume Apple has a patent on the technology. If the EU forces Apple to share the technology, won't other device makers have to pay a royalty?

 

[Rogifan]

Let me guess....it’s not consumers complaining about this but banks and other payment services.

Also, what tech is Apple Pay using that is non-standard?

 

[Stella]

Well, the contactless technology that Apple Pay and many others rely on are standard technologies. As long as the card terminal accepts contactless payment, no further work is required by the vendor to make Apple Pay work.

Yes, I know that - Apple really didn't invent a completely new payment mechanism - it was based upon the existing mechanisms. Which is why, when Apple Pay was launched in Canada, it worked for 90% of locations that already had Tap.
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I assume Apple has a patent on the technology. If the EU forces Apple to share the technology, won't other device makers have to pay a royalty?

What patents? Apple Pay is based upon existing technologies / mechanisms.

 

[Glideslope]

In which case, I hope the EU give them herpes. You can't come over here and do things like play that tax dodge crap. We're not having it any more.

Relax, I have no intentions of vacationing in the EU. I’d be far more concerned with the rise in Nationalism at your doorstop than Apple Pay.
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Typical Brexit voter Response!

FYI, I live in NY.

 

[dominiongamma]

The EU is trying to grab 1st place of whining from Spotify. They are becoming a disgrace now

 

[gsurf123]

Totally agree with your comment of Apple locking customers/companies out of the using their Bluetooth chip, not just HomePods but all their devices. Yea I know it's Apple's chip, but it still SUCKS.

It really is quite simple...if you don't like the product then do not buy it. There are many other phones to pick from.

 

[DotCom2]

I still can't even get Apple Pay to work on most sites

GAH, me too! I thought was just something on my end but almost every time a site shows Apple Pay, it does not work for me. #frustrating

 

[DeanL]

Or they can do what they are very happy to do in China...obey local laws and regulations.

Exactly.

 

[tevion5]

**** the EU.

Yeah we try to regulate monopolistic practices of large corporations over here, you should try it some time...

For real though as a fan of Apple and the EU, this just looks like sensible anti-competition law in practice. Whether any ruling will be made is yet to be seen. I'm certain the reason for this pressure is from other payment vendors worried about Apple encroaching on their space. But seeing as Apple has an understandable advantage hear with their massive hardware base in the wild it could be a tricky one. I still can't see Apple Pay being banned or anything ridiculous so I'd chill out until any decisions are made. EU law is not dictated purely by corporate pressure...

 

[DotCom2]

aren't something like 80% of european mobile devices android based?

THIS! I've been to Europe twice and I intentionally took notice of what phones people were using (as I am an iPhone lover,) and most Europeans did NOT have an iPhone. So I agree with the post above, **** EU!