The European Commission has accused the technology company Apple of abusing its position in the smartphone payment market.

And it concluded in a preliminary report that the American company may have violated the competition law by depriving its competitors of using its pay and go system.

Apple denied the accusation, and expressed its willingness to communicate with the Commission.

If the charge is proven, the European Union will impose a fine on Apple, amounting to 10 percent of its turnover, which is equivalent to approximately $36.6 billion according to last year's revenues.
"We have proof that Apple hosts confined third-gathering admittance to key innovation expected to create contending versatile wallet arrangements on Apple gadgets... for Apple Pay, its own answer," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said at a public interview.
The European authority added: "We found in an underlying report that Apple might have sabotaged contest in light of a legitimate concern for its own help Apple Pay."

According to the commission, Apple's behavior has an "exclusionary effect" on competitors "and stifles innovation, leaving consumers who use a cell phone wallet on iPhones with few options."

The tech giant responded to the statement that its payment system is one of the many options available to the European consumer.

It added that it "ensures equal access" to mobile payment technology, while setting "leading metrics" related to "privacy and security".



But the European antitrust watchdog said the investigation found "no evidence" of security risks.

"To the contrary, the evidence in our files confirms that Apple's behavior cannot be justified by any security considerations," Fastger said.

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The commission accused Apple of anti-competitive practices in 2015 when the company launched its Apple Pay service.

The number of banks that use Apple Pay in Europe, 2500 banks. Apple phones represent a third of the smartphones used in Europe.

The European Union is preparing to introduce new rules to technology companies next year. It is separated by the Digital Markets Act.

Last year, the European watchdog also charged Apple with violating competition rules in the online music streaming market, following a complaint from Spotify.