Is Apple's monopoly over - the first alternative is coming from Norway

Earlier this year, Apple finally gave developers access to its NFC technology. Now the first alternative to Apple Pay has arrived.

Not only do iPhone users in the European Union have access to NFC, but other regions can also benefit from the technology. Vipps MobilePay in Norway thus became the first alternative to Apple Pay, which uses native NFC technology for tap-to-pay transactions.

Tak me Vipps works for sending money to friends and online shopping, but that's not all. You can also pay organizations and associations, so this app is really like a combination of what PayPal and Apple Pay do.

The reason Apple is opening up access to its NFC technology is largely due to pressure from the EU. In July, the company signed an agreement with the European Commission to open up NFC technology for the iPhone, thereby avoiding a legal penalty of up to 10 percent of its $40 billion annual turnover worldwide.

Vipps is a Norwegian company and currently only works there, and users who belong to more than 40 local banks will be able to use "Tak me Vipps" to pay as the company plans to add more banks to the list. Support for MasterCard and Visa cards will also come before summer 2025.

Vipps' success story is perhaps the first example of a challenge to Apple Pay's iPhone monopoly, so it will be interesting to see when others follow in their footsteps. /Telegraph/