19.2 billion contactless payments a year, and one company decides which apps can tap
What happened
On 20 October 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published proposals that would force Apple to open up the contactless chip inside the iPhone to other companies. Every iPhone contains an NFC chip. NFC stands for near-field communication, and it is the technology that lets you tap a phone on a card reader. At the moment, in the UK, apps other than Apple's own can only reach that chip in one way, through what is called the secure element. The secure element stores your card details on the phone itself. The CMA wants Apple to offer a second route as well, called host-based card emulation, where the details are stored off the device. It also wants Apple's charges for access brought down. The CMA is not proposing to set Apple's prices itself. Instead it has set out principles for how those prices should be worked out, and says it expects fees to be substantially lower than they are now, while still rewarding Apple fairly. The legal basis is the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Earlier this year the CMA gave Apple what it calls Strategic Market Status for its mobile platform. That designation is what allows the CMA to impose what it calls a conduct requirement. The consultation is open until 17 November 2026. A final decision follows after that.
Why this matters
Tapping to pay has quietly become how Britain buys things. Contactless payments rose 2% to 19.2 billion in 2025 and made up 39% of all payments, according to UK Finance. A decade earlier it was 3%. And a lot of that tapping now happens with a phone. Research by Which? found 62% of UK adults use a digital wallet, and Apple Wallet is the most popular, used by 50%. When one company controls the only door to the chip, it controls who gets to build on top of it. The CMA says businesses told it that Apple's fees and terms may not be commercially viable, and that having only one technical route makes it harder to build something at scale. The sector affected is not small. UK fintech generates around £214 billion in turnover, and research by The Data City in 2025 counted 362,651 people working across 3,348 companies. There is also a real-world comparison. In the EU, Apple agreed to provide NFC access, and about six months later the Norwegian payment app Vipps launched the first alternative wallet. PayPal, Klarna, Curve and BBVA followed. Nothing comparable has launched in the UK.
What the evidence actually says
The CMA's own framing is about what could be built, not just about payments. Sarah Cardell, the CMA's chief executive, said: "These proposals open the door to more innovation, more choice and economic growth." She said the CMA had heard that high fees, strict terms and technical restrictions make it hard for challengers to compete. David Geale, the Financial Conduct Authority's executive director for consumers, payments and competition, welcomed the move. He said: "Improved access and substantially lower fees should create greater competition." He added that it would support open banking by making payments straight from a bank account easier. The CMA lists uses beyond cards: digital IDs and age verification, digital keys for cars, hotel rooms and workplaces, tickets and travel passes, and loyalty schemes. All of those need the tap-to-work chip. It is worth being clear about what this is and is not. It is a consultation on a proposal, not a decision. Nothing changes on anyone's phone this month. Apple and other parties can respond by 17 November 2026, and the CMA will assess those responses before deciding. It is also worth noting what the CMA has declined to do. It has not set a fee. Pricing principles leave room for argument, and the gap between "substantially lower" and a number on an invoice is where this will actually be settled.
Practical advice
Nothing you need to do today. But a few things are worth knowing. If you use a digital wallet, the protections on the card inside it are the same as the protections on the plastic card. Tapping a phone does not reduce your rights if a payment goes wrong. If more wallets do arrive, the thing to check before moving your cards is who is actually regulated. Look for the company's status on the Financial Conduct Authority register before handing over card details, not just the app store rating. Be careful with the word "free". Payment apps make money somewhere. Read what happens to your transaction data. If you are a small business, this is the consultation to watch, because the cost of accepting and making payments is one of the few overheads you cannot negotiate down on your own. Responses close on 17 November 2026 and anyone can respond. And if you have an older relative who has never used tap-to-pay: the useful bit is not the technology, it is that a lost phone can be locked remotely while a lost wallet cannot.
What to know
The CMA has proposed requiring Apple to give other companies two technical routes to the iPhone's contactless chip, instead of one, and to charge substantially less for access. The proposal uses powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 following Apple's designation with Strategic Market Status. Contactless now accounts for 39% of UK payments, 19.2 billion of them in 2025, and Apple Wallet is used by half of UK adults. The CMA argues the change could unlock digital IDs, car and hotel keys, tickets and loyalty services, not just payments. The consultation closes on 17 November 2026 and a final decision follows. Nothing has changed yet. Sources: Competition and Markets Authority, "CMA outlines proposals to unlock contactless technology on Apple iPhone", 20 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-outlines-proposals-to-unlock-contactless-technology-on-apple-iphone ; UK Finance, "UK Payment Markets", 2026, https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/ ; Which?, digital wallet research, 2026, https://www.which.co.uk/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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