Vipps Emerges as First Apple Pay Tap-to-Pay Competitor on iPhone Due to EU Regulation

Vipps has announced the launch of support for contactless payments using an iPhone in Norway, making the Norwegian payments firm the first third-party app in the world to offer tap-to-pay support on iOS, just like Apple Pay. Previously, only the company’s Apple Pay and Wallet apps were allowed to access the NFC chip for contactless payments, but a previous announcement from the company revealed that access to NFC functionality on the iPhone would be opened up with the iOS 18.1 update  in select regions.

Contactless Payments With Third Party Apps on iOS

The company says that support for contactless payments on an iPhone with the Vipps app was made possible after Apple allowed third-party developers access to the hardware on the iPhone, as part of an agreement with the European Union (EU). The move means that Apple’s handsets will now allow users to access the same functionality offered by the Apple Pay and Wallet via third party apps.

As of Monday, customers in Norway can use the Vipps app on their iPhone to make contactless payments. The company says that it currently supports 40 banks, including SpareBank 1 and DNB. Transactions with other Vipps users will be supported, along with in-store or online payments, as well sending money gifts, requests for payments, and payments to organisations or associations.

Third party contactless payments on iOS
Photo Credit: Apple

In order to enable support for contactless payments on iOS, Vipps worked with BankAxept and Thales, and the company says that payments at nine out of 10 terminals in Norway will be supported, as they work with BankAxept cards. The company says that it will add support for Mastercard and Visa cards “before the summer holidays” (translated from Norwegian).

Vipps users with eligible cards can now make payments by bringing their iPhone close to the payment terminal, and the handset will also allow them to summon the app quickly by pressing the side button twice. The app will be able to use Apple’s Secure Element microprocessor, which enables support for secure contactless payments.

This is the same functionality that was added to iOS 18.1 before it was released, and developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the EU, the UK, and the US can add support for contactless payments on an iPhone.

“We have fought for a long time to be able to compete on an equal footing with Apple. Therefore, it feels almost surreal to finally launch our very own solution. This will now be an unusually exciting battle between the world’s strongest brand and Vipps,” says Rune Garborg, CEO of Vipps MobilePay.