Apple warned by top US consumer watchdog on tap-to-pay tech

Tap-to-pay transactions have exploded in recent years as mobile devices became ever-present, making paying via a smartphone more and more desirable. Almost 56 million consumers used Apple Pay for an in-store payment in April 2023 alone, the CFPB estimated. — Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

The US government’s top consumer watchdog, which is in the process of writing rules around the sharing of consumer financial data, warned tech giants about being overly restrictive in access to payments apps, taking a shot at Apple Inc’s proprietary tap-to-pay technology.

Because Apple and Alphabet Inc’s Google Pay dominate the mobile-device tap-to-pay market, the constraints they impose on app developers’ ability to use the technology could inhibit consumer choice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.