The Digital Markets Act (DMA) legislation from the European Union has forced Apple to provide developers with enhanced access to the iPhone’s NFC reader. This change was rolled out earlier this year with the release of iOS 17.4. The Norwegian payment application “Vipps” is the first to utilize this new API, enabling users to make payments via NFC directly from its iPhone app.
Vipps is the pioneer app for NFC payments on iPhone
According to Tek.no, the recent update to the Vipps app allows iPhone users to perform contactless payments at retail locations using their cards—without needing to exit the app or use Apple Wallet. Additionally, users have the option to substitute the Apple Wallet with Vipps, so pressing the side button twice brings up Vipps instead of the Wallet app.
Currently, Vipps supports only Bankaxept cards, which belong to Norway’s national payment system. However, the platform has announced that Visa and Mastercard support will be introduced “in a few months,” enabling global contactless payments through Vipps.
“After years of striving for equal competition with Apple, it feels almost unreal to finally launch our own solution. This marks the beginning of an exciting rivalry between one of the world’s largest brands and Vipps,” stated Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay.
In August, Apple revealed plans to expand the capability for third-party applications to serve as NFC wallets in additional countries. With the launch of iOS 18.1 in October, the company made the NFC & SE Platform API accessible to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
This API empowers developers to build wallet applications capable of supporting payments, digital keys, IDs, and tickets. Apple emphasizes that the API leverages the iPhone’s Secure Enclave to protect data management and privacy.
For more information about the NFC & SE Platform API, visit the Apple Developer website.
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