?? Breaking: Apple to Allow Third-Party Payment Apps on iOS in Europe

Hey FinTech Fanatic!

Apple has agreed to let third-party mobile wallet and payment services in Europe use the technology behind its Apple Pay app, a move aimed at addressing competition concerns raised by European regulators.

The U.S. tech giant announced on Friday that it would permit other companies' apps to make contactless payments on iPhones and other devices running its iOS operating system, free of charge, without the necessity of using Apple Pay or Apple Wallet.

This decision follows an investigation by the European Commission into whether Apple's restrictions on access to NFC technology - essential for mobile devices to interact with payment terminals - violated competition rules. Apple stated that this concession comes after discussions with the Commission and emphasized that Apple Pay, currently supported by over 3,000 issuing banks in Europe, would remain widely available.

Under the new proposal, European consumers using their mobile devices for payments will have the choice between Apple Pay or an iOS-enabled app. Users will also have the flexibility to change their default payment method at any time.

Apple has offered the following concessions:

• Only banks and finance companies in the EEA* get access
• Though once an EAA card is registered, it will work worldwide
• iPhone owners can choose to register a card for Apple Pay or a bank’s own app
• The same security and authentication processes will apply
• The access lasts for 10 years

*European Economic Area: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

It will be interesting to watch how this evolves in various areas around the world.

Enjoy more FinTech Industry updates I listed for you below??, and have a great start to the week!

Cheers,

Marcel

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INSIGHTS

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FINTECH NEWS

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PAYMENTS NEWS

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DIGITAL BANKING NEWS

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???? Sainsbury’s set to wind down banking business. The retailer has announced it is planning a “phased withdrawal” of its main banking business following the completion of a strategic review of its financial services division. The announcement also confirmed the retirement of Jim Brown, Sainsbury’s Bank’s CEO of almost five years.?

???? Wise accuses high street banks of hidden exchange rate fees. For GBP to EUR, Wise reports that HSBC has the highest fee for exchange rates (3.7%), followed by Lloyds at 3.6%, Barclays at 2.75%, and NatWest, TSB and Santander all at 2.5%. Read more

DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS

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???? DailyPay closes $175 million equity round. The equity financing from both existing and new investors will be deployed to further accelerate DailyPay's continued product innovation and to drive its expansion into adjacent categories and new markets. Read more

???? Vertice gains $25 million in Series B.? The company has now raised a total of $51 million since January 2022, upping its valuation into the hundreds of millions. Vertice will use the capital to further fuel its pace of product innovation and accelerate its worldwide expansion.

M&As

Goldman Sachs-backed ZestMoney, once valued at $450M, sold to DMI in fire sale. The two firms didn’t disclose the terms of the deals, but a person familiar with the situation said the acquisition is largely a way for DMI to poach and retain talent and that every investor in ZestMoney lost money.

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