Apple Pay may be scrutinised by EU’s Vestager
Mobile payments services such as Apple Pay are in EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager’s crosshairs, weeks after her team sought industry feedback about Facebook’s planned Libra digital currency project.
The European Commission asked online-payment companies, banks, and app businesses last month about how Apple devices may favour Apple Pay over other payment methods.
Regulators confirmed they would sent requests for information to market participants, without naming Apple. “The commission monitors possible anti-competitive market practices and abusive conduct,” said the EU.
“In this context, the commission is actively monitoring the development of mobile payment solutions, the behaviour by operators active in the payments sector, including mobile payments.”
Big technology companies are getting intense attention from regulators over concerns they could leverage their power to march into new industries.
Apple is already the target of a complaint to the EU from Spotify over alleged discrimination after it launched its own music-streaming service. Apple Pay has been slow to roll out in Europe, only becoming available at the end of last year in Germany.
The preliminary investigation follows similar information requests in August on Facebook’s Libra that checked whether the proposed payment system might unfairly shut out rivals or create competition restrictions over data. Ms Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, has warned financial technology companies need to have “a real chance to compete” to unlock their potential.
French competition regulators are also looking at how Apple Pay and others may “gain strong positions in the payment sector while also having strongholds elsewhere”, the head of the French authority said in a July interview.
Ms Vestager’s officials are weighing a study on fintech and payment systems. Ms Vestager has defended her dual role as a rulemaker and enforcer of competition law.
Ms Vestager faced some criticism from the European Parliament’s biggest party, which argued it is not possible to “strengthen antitrust [competition] efforts and fine tech giants and, at the same time, count on Google or Apple’s co-operation for a digital industrial strategy”.
The negative comments didn’t stop her from winning MEPs’ backing for her new job.
