Switzerland Probes Apple Pay Monopoly as EU Opens NFC

Reviewed by: Y. Garcia

When most people think about mobile payments, they picture the seamless tap-to-pay experience that's become second nature. But here's what you might not realize: until very recently, if you owned an iPhone and lived in Europe, Apple had complete control over that experience through its exclusive grip on NFC (near-field communication) technology. Now, Switzerland is launching its own antitrust investigation into Apple's practices, even as European neighbors are already enjoying newfound payment freedom.

The story starts with a landmark European Commission investigation that found Apple maintained a dominant position in mobile wallets by keeping NFC access locked down exclusively for Apple Pay. Their preliminary conclusion was clear: Apple abused its market dominance by shutting out competitors from the same technology that made contactless payments possible.

But here's where it gets particularly frustrating for Swiss users. While the EU commitments apply across the EEA, Switzerland is not part of it. However, Switzerland's competition authority says Apple has granted Swiss third-party providers access to the iPhone NFC & SE platform since late 2024, under Swiss-specific terms now under preliminary investigation. Swiss regulators say Apple has provided Swiss third parties access since late 2024, but they're investigating whether Apple's Swiss terms allow effective competition with Apple Pay.

What makes NFC access so valuable?

Let's break down why this technology became such a battleground in the first place. Near-field communication is essentially the invisible handshake that happens when you tap your phone to pay for coffee. It's become the backbone of modern contactless payments, but Apple's iron grip on this feature created what regulators called an unfair playing field.

The European Commission's investigation revealed just how comprehensive Apple's control really was. Apple Pay was the only mobile wallet allowed to access NFC hardware and software on iOS devices for in-store payments. This exclusivity meant Apple controlled every aspect of its ecosystem, including the conditions under which competing mobile wallet developers could even attempt to access these features—spoiler alert: they couldn't.

What made this particularly problematic was that this refusal excluded Apple Pay's rivals from the market entirely, which led to reduced innovation and fewer choices for iPhone users who wanted alternatives to Apple's own payment solution.

Imagine if only one brand of credit card worked at certain stores, or if your car could only use one specific gas station chain. That's essentially what Apple created in the mobile payments world—a monopoly disguised as ecosystem integration.

How Europe forced Apple's hand

Here's where the story gets really fascinating, because getting Apple to open up any part of its ecosystem is notoriously difficult. Yet the EU's regulatory pressure achieved what seemed impossible—making Apple crack open its walled garden, at least partially.

The commitments Apple agreed to are actually pretty significant when you dig into the details. Apple agreed to provide NFC access free of charge to third-party developers for a full decade. That's not just a token gesture—it's a long-term commitment that gives competing wallet providers real opportunity to build sustainable businesses.

The technical implementation is equally important. Apple now enables access through Host Card Emulation mode, which allows secure payment storage and transaction completion without relying on Apple's own secure element hardware. For non-technical folks, this basically means competing wallets can now offer the same tap-to-pay security and convenience that was previously exclusive to Apple Pay.

But perhaps the most user-facing change is this: iPhone users can now set third-party wallet apps as their default payment option rather than being locked into Apple Wallet. That means you can double-click your phone's side button and launch PayPal, your bank's app, or whatever payment solution you prefer—not just Apple's choice.

Apple also had to provide access to key iOS features like double-click functionality, Face ID, Touch ID, and passcode authentication for competing wallet applications. These features were previously Apple Pay exclusives, so opening them up levels the playing field significantly.

Early winners in the newly opened market

The impact of Apple's NFC opening has been immediate and substantial across Europe, with several major players jumping at the opportunity to compete directly with Apple Pay—each taking notably different strategic approaches.

Vipps MobilePay became the first third-party mobile wallet to enable contactless payments on iPhones after Apple opened access in December 2024. As the proof-of-concept winner, they demonstrated that Apple's commitments could work in practice, not just on paper, paving the way for other competitors.

PayPal represented the global platform approach. PayPal launched tap-to-pay functionality on iPhone in Germany by May 2025, specifically targeting NFC Mastercard transactions. For a company that's been trying to break into mobile payments more aggressively, this represents a huge opportunity to leverage their existing user base and offer iPhone users a familiar alternative to Apple Pay.

But perhaps the most comprehensive success story is Curve, which took the full-featured wallet approach. Curve introduced their iOS payment solution in May 2025, becoming the first fully functional third-party wallet with NFC tap-to-pay access across the entire European Economic Area. They're not just offering payments—they're adding real-time spending insights and other value-added services, showing how competition can drive innovation beyond just basic payment functionality.

What's particularly telling is how quickly these companies moved once the opportunity became available. It suggests there was significant pent-up demand for alternatives to Apple Pay, and companies had been preparing their solutions while waiting for regulatory changes to open the door.

Switzerland's unique position and challenges

This brings us to Switzerland's frustrating situation. While their European neighbors are enjoying this newfound payment freedom, Swiss iPhone users remain stuck in Apple's original restrictive system due to the country's unique regulatory position.

Unlike its European neighbors, Switzerland is not a member of the EU and, unlike Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland, is not part of the European Economic Area either. This political reality creates a concrete technological barrier: Swiss regulators say Apple grants third parties access via its NFC & SE platform, subject to Apple's terms.

The practical impact creates a frustrating user experience divide. While someone in Germany can now set their bank's app as their default payment method and use double-tap to pay, Swiss users still must open the TWINT app first to make payments. It's the difference between a seamless tap-and-go experience and the more cumbersome process of unlocking your phone, finding the app, opening it, and then making your payment.

This geographic digital divide is particularly frustrating because Switzerland sits right in the middle of the European Economic Area, surrounded by countries where iPhone users have more payment freedom than Swiss users do. It's a perfect example of how regulatory boundaries can create very real differences in user experience, even for identical devices.

What this means for the future of mobile payments

The regulatory momentum we're seeing shows no signs of slowing down, and the implications extend far beyond just choosing between Apple Pay and PayPal on your phone.

The scope of change is expanding rapidly. The European Commission has ordered Apple to provide iPhone NFC access to third-party connected devices, which opens up fascinating possibilities like making payments through NFC-enabled wearables such as rings or bracelets using payment card details stored on your smartphone. Imagine paying for groceries with a tap of your smart ring, even if your phone is still in your pocket.

For the banking industry, this represents a massive strategic opportunity. European banks can now build branded wallet solutions to compete directly with Apple Pay and Google Pay while maintaining control over customer relationships and transaction data. Instead of being forced to integrate with Apple's system and play by Apple's rules, banks can now create their own user experiences and keep direct relationships with their customers.

The scale of change is already impressive, with Europe making ambitious moves toward payment independence. WERO has attracted over 40 million registered users across Germany, France, and Belgium since launching in July 2024. WERO represents Europe's bold attempt to create a unified payment standard that reduces dependence on American tech companies like Apple and Google—essentially a European answer to Apple Pay.

For Switzerland, this creates both mounting pressure and potential opportunity. Swiss consumers can see exactly what they're missing compared to their neighbors, while Swiss companies watch European competitors gain advantages in the mobile payments space. Switzerland's antitrust probe could potentially extend these competitive benefits to Swiss consumers, breaking down the final barriers to true payment choice in the Apple ecosystem.

The bottom line is that we're witnessing a fundamental shift in how mobile payments work, driven by regulatory pressure that's forcing Apple to open up systems it has kept locked down for over a decade. Whether Switzerland's investigation leads to similar changes remains to be seen, but the precedent set by the EU suggests that Apple's days of complete NFC control may be numbered, even in non-EU markets.