Apple has said that its contactless technology will soon be open to other developers following pressure from the EU.

Using new Near-Field-Communication (NFC) and Secure Element APIs, third-parties will now be able to offer in-app contactless transactions for in-store payments, car keys, closed-loop transit, corporate badges, student IDs, home keys, hotel keys, merchant loyalty and rewards cards, and tickets, with government IDs to be supported in the future.

The European Commission last month accepted legally binding commitments from Apple to open access to its 'tap and go' technology on iPhones, addressing concerns over the tech giant's alleged abuse of market dominance in mobile payments.

The Commission's investigation, which began four years ago, focused on Apple's refusal to grant rivals access to NFC technology used for contactless payments with iPhones in stores.
This technology, crucial for mobile wallet functionality, was previously reserved exclusively for Apple Pay.

Apple said that to incorporate this new solution in their iPhone apps, developers will need to enter into a commercial agreement with Apple, request the NFC and SE entitlement, and pay the associated fees.

"This ensures that only authorised developers who meet certain industry and regulatory requirements, and commit to Apple’s ongoing security and privacy standards, can access the relevant APIs," said the company.

The NFC and SE APIs will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US in an upcoming developer seed for iOS 18.1.

Apple said that it would also be expanding to other locations in the future.

To make a contactless transaction within an app that utilises these APIs, users can either open the app directly, or set the app as their default contactless app in iOS Settings, and double-click the side button on iPhone to initiate a transaction.

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