The Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) has initiated a preliminary investigation into Apple’s conditions for granting access to the NFC & Secure Element (SE) platform on iOS devices. The authority aims to determine whether these terms raise concerns under Swiss competition law, particularly regarding competition in mobile payments.
Apple currently allows third-party developers to access the NFC interface on iOS devices only through the NFC & SE platform and subject to Apple’s specific terms and conditions. The Secretariat will assess whether these conditions enable effective competition between Apple Pay and other mobile payment applications for in-store contactless payments.
iOS devices operate exclusively within Apple’s proprietary ecosystem, which gives the company full control over core technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC). NFC enables short-range wireless communication between devices and is essential for contactless payments.
Historically, Apple restricted third-party access to the NFC interface on iOS devices, in contrast to the more open access available on Android. This changed following the European Commission’s July 2024 decision to accept commitments from Apple, requiring the company to provide free NFC access to third parties across the European Economic Area (EEA).
Since early 2024, the Secretariat has been engaged in discussions with Apple to secure similar access for Swiss app providers. As a result, Apple began granting Swiss developers access to the NFC & SE platform in late 2024. However, the terms applicable in Switzerland differ from those established in the EEA.
The current preliminary investigation will focus on whether Apple’s Swiss-specific conditions comply with national antitrust rules. COMCO’s Secretariat is continuing to gather information from market participants and other stakeholders to determine the potential competitive impact of Apple’s access framework.