‘It is not illegal to charge fees,’ Apple tells Brazilian regulator on NFC probe

Apple Pay and the iPhone’s NFC sensor have long been the subject of disputes around the globe. Last year, the European Commission compelled Apple to grant developers access to the NFC reader, and more recently, the company expanded this access in other regions due to increasing regulatory pressure. Now, a new national payment system in Brazil has a regulatory body taking an even closer look at the iPhone’s NFC, and it appears the company isn’t willing to budge. Apple’s NFC rules probed in Brazil Since 2020, Brazilians have enjoyed Pix, a free and instant pay ecosystem created by the Central Bank of Brazil. Recently, the institution announced the rollout of Proximity Pix, which does exactly what it sounds like. Google was quick to adopt the feature free of charge to more than 40 participating banks. Apple, however, didn’t. This angered banking institutions and associations, who brought the case to CADE, the country’s antitrust regulator. Banks claim that Apple’s rules for accessing ... Read full article.