EU antitrust regulators accept Apple’s offer to open tap-and-go NFC mobile payments to rivals

Brussels:EU antitrust regulators on Thursday accepted Apple's offer to open its tap-and-go mobile payments system to rivals to settle a four-year long investigation that could have resulted in a hefty fine for the iPhone maker.

"Apple's final commitments would address its competition concerns over Apple's restriction of third-party mobile wallet developers' access to NFC payments in stores for EEA iOS users," the European Commission said in a statement.

Apple's offer will be valid for 10 years. Its tap-and-go technology called near-field communication, or NFC, allows for contactless payments with mobile wallets.

The company said its offer would give European developers an option to enable tap-and-go payments for car keys, closed loop transit, corporate badges, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty/rewards, and event tickets from within their iOS apps.

The EU competition enforcer two years ago charged Apple with hindering competition for its Apple Pay mobile wallet by blocking rival mobile wallets app developers from accessing its tap-and-go technology.