Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares rose over 1% on Friday following its decision to grant competitors access to tap-and-go payment technology, a move aimed at resolving an EU antitrust case.
Apple has pledged to open up its tap-and-go mobile payment system to its rivals within the European Union. This move comes as the U.S. tech giant aims to settle an antitrust case and avoid potential fines running into billions of dollars.
According to the EU, Apple has proposed granting access to the contactless payment function on its iOS operating system to third-party mobile wallet and payment service providers. These proposed changes would remain in effect for ten years and are currently open for feedback from all interested parties within the 27-nation bloc, plus countries like Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.
The European Commission, which serves as the bloc’s executive arm and its primary enforcer of antitrust regulations, initially accused Apple in 2022 of exploiting its dominant position in the market by restricting access to its mobile payment technology. The allegation centered around Apple’s purported limitation of access to the near-field communication (NFC) technology used by its Apple Pay system. By doing so, the commission argued that Apple hindered developers of rival mobile wallet apps from offering competing services on Apple devices.
Breaches of EU competition law can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual global revenue, potentially reaching tens of billions of euros (dollars) in Apple’s case.
The ongoing discussions with the European Commission have contributed to a positive market sentiment for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), as reflected in a 1.55% increase in its stock at the close of trading on Friday. With 68,713,330 (68.71 million) shares traded, Apple’s daily average trading volume remains below that figure at 54.41 million shares.
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