Norwegian payment service Vipps has launched the world’s first Apple Pay competitor on the iPhone, marking the first fruits of Apple’s agreement with European Union regulators to open up its NFC technology to third-party developers.
Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway will be able to make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. Approximately 70% of Norwegian bank customers will be able to use the service, with support for customers of SpareBank 1, DNB, and over 40 other Norwegian banks.
Vipps’ solution currently works with terminals that accept BankAxept cards, Norway’s national payment system, covering more than 90% of payment terminals in the country. The company plans to expand support for Visa and Mastercard cards in the coming months, enabling worldwide payment capabilities before summer 2025.
“We have fought for years to be able to compete on equal footing with Apple, and it feels almost surreal to finally be able to launch our very own solution,” said Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay, in a statement on the company’s website.
The launch follows the European Commission’s July 2024 acceptance of legally binding commitments from Apple to open its mobile payments system to competitors.
Developers of payment, banking, and digital wallet applications in the European Economic Area (EEA) are now allowed to integrate their own solutions with Apple’s NFC chips, allowing consumers to use NFC-enabled apps from other providers, alongside or instead of Apple Pay.
Users can now make payments by holding their iPhone near a payment terminal and use Face ID, Touch ID, or their passcode to authorize a transaction. Users can set Vipps as their default payment method, which can then be activated with a double-click of their iPhone’s side button, just as they would when paying via Apple Pay.
Vipps MobilePay plans to expand its tap-to-pay solution to Denmark, Finland, and Sweden in 2025.