Now UK regulators want to open up payments and NFC on Apple and Google
Apple faces yet more regulatory scrutiny in the UK where Britain’s competition regulator is consulting on new requirements to make both Apple and Google allow app developers to use external payment systems.
Make it pay my way says UK
The Competition and Markets Authority proposes removing restrictions currently preventing UK app developers from ‘steering’ their customers away from Apple and Google’s platforms for payment.
The regulator agrees that both companies deserve compensation for the services they provide, those fees should be fair and reasonable. It says that it expects steering fees to be lower than current App Store charges.
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Making ‘Choice’ mandatory – even if you don’t want it
Speaking today at the Informa Connect CompLaw conference, Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets, said:
“While it is only fair for Apple and Google to be compensated for the services they provide, any fees they charge must be justified through a robust, evidence-led framework involving due reference to both cost and value.”
“We think it is important to give both app developers and users more choice about how they communicate and how they transact. This is not only because choice is inherently valuable but also because we see this as the best way to introduce some competitive pressure in a vital part of the mobile ecosystem that is otherwise sorely lacking such pressure.”
Why have one NFC app when you can have confusion instead?
The CMA is also designing a potential requirement to allow access to near field communication (NFC) functionality for developers. The idea is that fintech firms will be able to offer card payments via their own apps. The CM is seeking views from developers on this.
This intervention follows the CMA’s decision last October to grant Apple and Google ‘strategic market status’, a designation for the most dominant businesses in the mobile market.
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