A German parliamentary committee on wednesday passed an amendment to an anti-money laundering law that would Force Apple to open the iPhone NFC chip to competing payment providers. The new law will come into effect in early 2020.
Reuters reports Apple has expressed “surprise” over the sudden decision and expressed security-related concerns.
“We are surprised at how suddenly this legislation was introduced,” an Apple spokesperson told Reuters. “We fear that the draft law could be harmful to user friendliness, data protection and the security of financial information.”
However, there may be a loophole Apple can use to keep the NFC chip locked down. German financial website Finanz-Szene report Apple may be able to argue that opening the NFC chip to other payment providers NFC chip would put the security of its customers at risk.
Google Translation:
“Exceptionally, the system undertaking is not required to comply with paragraph 1 if there are reasonable grounds for refusal to make the provision available. These exist, in particular, if the system undertaking can demonstrate that the safety and integrity of the technical infrastructure services is specifically jeopardized by the provision of such facilities. The rejection must be reasonably justified. “
European Union competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager earlier this month said her department had received “many concerns” over Apple Pay and its anti-competitive possibilities.
(Via MacRumors)
