Opinion
Apple and Google are losing their monopoly on the payment moment - opening new opportunities for Israeli fintechs
"What once required years of licensing and banking infrastructure has become something any fintech entrepreneur with a good idea can build today," writes Nadav Tamam, Regional Director for Enterprise, Airwallex Israel and the Middle East.
Sometimes markets evolve gradually, and sometimes they simply break. The year 2025 marks such a turning point for the world of digital payments. For more than a decade, Apple and Google controlled the narrow gateway between users and their money - a control that turned the payment moment into a de facto monopoly. Apple dictated how payments were made on the iPhone, Google decided how purchases worked on Android, and anyone wishing to participate had to pay steep fees and play by rules not their own.
That era is ending - or at least beginning to end.
Europe has changed the rules of the game
The European Union, which recognized the problem early on, was not intimidated by the size of these tech giants. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Apple was required to open what had long been closed: the iPhone’s NFC component and its in-app payment infrastructure. The change is not only technical - it’s structural. From now on, Apple Pay will no longer be the only payment service that can operate on iPhones, and developers will no longer be forced to use Apple’s payment mechanism or hide alternative options from users.
The results are already visible: banks, fintech, and alternative payment services are launching competing wallets that run directly on Apple devices. Businesses can now accept payments straight from a smartphone via SoftPOS - without expensive terminals or unnecessary fees. Within apps, major players such as Spotify and Epic are experimenting with new models that bypass the so-called “Apple tax,” regaining control over pricing and customer relationships.
Google is being pulled into the game too
If Apple was the symbol of a closed ecosystem, Google has long presented itself as the more open player - but it, too, leveraged its power. Under the same regulations, Google must now allow external payment systems on the Play Store and cannot block developers from promoting alternatives. At the same time, Google is expanding its Tap to Pay offerings and enabling easier access for competing wallets on Android devices.
While these changes may appear to be a forced response to regulation, they in fact acknowledge a deeper reality: the old model can no longer survive in an era where payments are no longer a premium feature - they are core infrastructure.
A golden opportunity for the next generation of fintechs
Behind the regulatory headlines lies an enormous opportunity for young fintech companies - especially Israeli ones, which have long earned a global reputation for technological sophistication and agility. The opening of the NFC and in-app payment markets is creating strong demand for a new infrastructure layer: cross-border payment processing, multi-currency management, card issuance, and connectivity to local payment networks.
A growing number of companies now provide this “plumbing” - APIs and infrastructure that let even small players enter what was once the exclusive domain of global giants. Startups, digital banks, and tech firms based in Israel can now launch global payment solutions within weeks, connect directly to international clearing networks, and compete on the same field as the industry’s biggest names.
In other words, what once required years of licensing and banking infrastructure has become something any fintech entrepreneur with a good idea can build today.
Looking ahead: What happens in Europe won’t stay in Europe
Just as with privacy regulation (GDPR), Europe’s latest move will not remain confined to the EU. Apple and Google will not be able to maintain different models across continents for long. Business, legal, and consumer pressure will ensure that change reaches the United States, Asia, and other global markets.
The bottom line is clear: the era in which two companies controlled the moment of payment is drawing to a close. A new era is beginning - one in which competition returns, innovation accelerates, and the consumer finally comes back to the center.
Nadav Tamam is the Regional Director for Enterprise, Airwallex Israel and the Middle East.
