HIGHLIGHTS
- The European Commission served Apple with a charge sheet.
- Apple may have limited competition to benefit Apple Pay.
- Apple stated that it will continue to work with the Commission.
Apple was accused by EU antitrust officials on Monday with preventing rivals' access to its NFC chip technology, a move that may result in a heavy punishment for the iPhone manufacturer and force it to expose its mobile payment system to competitors.
The European Commission said that it had handed Apple a charge sheet known as a statement of objections outlining how the corporation had exploited its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices.
"We have evidence that Apple limited third-party access to essential technologies required to create competing mobile payment solutions on Apple's devices," said EU antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a statement.
"In our statement of objections, we preliminarily concluded that Apple may have limited competition to the benefit of its own solution, Apple Pay," she stated.
Apple stated that it will continue to work with the Commission.
"Apple Pay is merely one of several payment alternatives accessible to European consumers," the business said in a statement. "Apple Pay has provided equitable access to NFC while maintaining industry-leading standards for privacy and security."
