CMA wants Apple to open iPhone NFC, with responses due 17 November

CMA wants Apple to open iPhone NFC, with responses due 17 November

20 October 2026: The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has proposed requiring Apple to let developers use the iPhone's contactless NFC chip on fair, reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory terms, with charges it expects to be "substantially lower than Apple's current fees". Responses to the consultation close at 11:59pm on 17 November, leaving under two weeks for any firm with a view.

Not yet independently verified. This is a draft proposal and the CMA states no date for a final decision. We have read the consultation page and press release, not the 147-page consultation document in full. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Terms rather than a price

The proposal would be a conduct requirement on Apple's mobile platform, made possible by the strategic market status designation the CMA gave Apple on 22 October 2025. Access would run through the main contactless standards used internationally.

The CMA is not setting a number. It proposes principles for what Apple may charge, and the fee question is where a payments firm's response is most likely to count, since a principle leaves room for argument that a figure would not.

The consultation document runs to 147 pages. The case page shows the route here: a call for evidence on NFC on 30 June, and commitments from Apple and Google published on 1 April.

Who could build on it

Payments is the obvious use, and the CMA's figures explain why it cares: contactless is 39% of UK payments against 3% a decade ago, more than 60% of adults use a digital wallet, and it puts UK fintech turnover at about £214 billion, with 360,000 jobs.

The regulator's list goes well beyond wallets, however. It includes digital ID, age checks, car, hotel and workplace keys, tickets and loyalty. A company in access control or hospitality software that has so far worked around the iPhone, or paid to use Apple's route, has as much reason to read this as a bank.

What the EU experience shows

The CMA points to Europe, where Apple agreed to open NFC access earlier. Vipps launched the first alternative payment app six months after that agreement, and PayPal, Klarna, Curve and BBVA followed. For planning, that suggests a gap of months between a rule and a product, even with a technical path already built for another market.

Android is not part of this proposal, which addresses Apple's platform only.

We list 14 payment processing products, and a provider among them that wants a tap-to-pay feature on iPhone in Britain, independent of Apple's wallet, should say so in its response. So should firms that would prefer a specific fee principle, because the requirement is still a draft.

The next fixed date is the 17 November deadline. The CMA gives no date for its final decision.

Related on TrustList:

• CMA proposes making Apple open iPhone NFC to UK wallets and apps
• Pakistan Single Window seeks a pre-funded wallet for trade payments
• Nigeria: banks and fintechs must host payments data inside the country from 1 January 2027, the central bank has directed

Sources

• CMA consultation: Proposed NFC access conduct requirement for Apple's mobile platform, 20 October 2026, 20 October 2026
• CMA press release: CMA outlines proposals to unlock contactless technology on Apple iPhone, 20 October 2026, 20 October 2026
• CMA case page: Apple's mobile platform, updated 5 November 2026, 5 November 2026