Martijn van de Hel was interviewed by the Global Competition Review (“GCR”) about the investigation of the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) into the access of payment apps to NFC communication in smartphones.
NFC is the communication method that makes it possible to make contactless payments with a smartphone. As the software of some smartphones only offers access to NFC communication to the software developer, ACM fears that innovation in the field of payment apps may be stifled. In addition, ACM is investigating whether the limitation of access for payment apps reduces the freedom of choice for smartphone users.
GCR asked Martijn to comment on this investigation. GCR writes:
“Maverick Advocaten partner Martijn van de Hel in Amsterdam said the Dutch authority’s investigation is surprising, as its market study found that payment apps do not yet play an important role in the Netherlands and big tech companies “are far from dominant” in the country’s payment sector.
The “key question” will be whether there is a real competition law issue or if the agency has been “too eager” in choosing to begin its probe “too soon”, van de Hel said. He predicted that the authority is unlikely to “be able to establish a violation of the competition rules”.”
The article can be found here in full.
