The European Commission has made commitments offered by Apple legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The commitments address the Commission's competition concerns relating to Apple's refusal to grant rivals access to NFC technology for contactless payments on iPhones.

Apple's market power in smart mobile devices and dominance in the in-store mobile wallet market on iOS led to the Commission's preliminary finding of abuse of dominant position by Apple. The refusal to supply NFC access to competing mobile wallet developers was seen as excluding rivals from the market and limiting innovation and choice for iPhone users.

To address the competition concerns, Apple committed to allowing third-party wallet providers access to NFC technology on iOS devices, implementing fair procedures for access, enabling users to set default payment apps, establishing a monitoring mechanism, and applying the commitments to all third-party mobile app developers in the EEA and iOS users with an Apple ID registered in the EEA.

Following a market test and consultations, Apple amended its initial proposal to extend NFC access to other industry-certified terminals, remove certain requirements for developers, update HCE architecture, prompt users to set up default payment apps easily, comply with industry standards, and enhance dispute resolution mechanisms.

The Commission concluded that Apple's final commitments would address its competition concerns and decided to make them legally binding for ten years throughout the EEA. A monitoring trustee appointed by Apple will oversee the implementation of the commitments.