Apple Pay’s monopoly ends as Norwegian fintech Vipps launches an alternative
Vipps’ launch signals that a decade of exclusivity is finally giving way to a more open payment experience for iPhone users.
For over a decade, Apple Pay stood unchallenged as the only tap-to-pay solution on iPhones, with Apple’s tightly controlled NFC system shutting out competitors.
But the tide has turned.
Shortly after Apple unlocked its NFC payment system for third-party developers, Norwegian fintech Vipps launched the first true alternative to Apple Pay on iOS, breaking a monopoly that has defined mobile payments on iPhones since their inception.
This seismic shift follows a July 2024 ruling by the European Commission, which found Apple’s policies anti-competitive and forced the company to grant free access to its NFC functionality. Under the new rules, European users can now set alternative payment apps as their default, creating room for challengers like Vipps to step into the ring.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
Vipps is taking full advantage. The service will enable a tap-to-pay feature for customers of SpareBank 1, DNB, and over 40 other Norwegian banks, collectively covering 70% of the country’s banking customers. Payments can be made at 90% of Norway’s payment terminals, thanks to integration with BankAxept, the nation’s payment network. This means Norwegian users can bypass Apple Pay entirely while enjoying the same seamless security features—authentication through Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode—that have made Apple Pay so popular.
Vipps’ ambitions extend beyond Norway. The company plans to add support for Visa and MasterCard by mid-2025 and expand its services to Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, with international payments slated for launch around the same time. This could trigger a ripple effect, encouraging other fintech companies across Europe to develop their own Apple Pay alternatives.
For Apple, this could spell trouble.
The company, which processed $6 trillion in global payments in 2022 and captured 14.2% of all online consumer payments and 3.5% of in-store purchases worldwide as of 2023, now faces the risk of losing a significant portion of its market share. If Vipps’ success in Norway inspires other European challengers, Apple’s dominance in mobile payments could erode rapidly.
For now, however, this shift is likely to remain confined to Europe, driven by the region’s regulatory crackdown on Apple’s ecosystem. Global expansion remains uncertain, though lawsuits challenging Apple’s policies in markets like India hint at broader changes on the horizon.
