The European Union is still investigating the antitrust issue of Apple's Apple Pay, studying the replacement of NFC with QR code / Bluetooth.

CTOnews.com, May 11 (Xinhua)-- EU antitrust investigators are stepping up their investigation into Apple's Apple Pay and have sent a number of investigators to European retailers for more information about the use and availability of mobile payment platforms, Bloomberg reported.

The European Union made public its preliminary investigation a year ago: Apple used the NFC chip on the iPhone to restrict its mobile payment platform and abuse its market dominance. The European Union believes that Apple's actions limit fair competition on other platforms and reduce consumer choices.

Some of the reports translated by Bloomberg by CTOnews.com are as follows:

The EU is currently studying the possibility of using QR codes and Bluetooth technology to implement other payment solutions on mobile devices, replacing Apple's NFC solution, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Apple's digital wallet solution can handle multiple usage scenarios such as booking air tickets and storing virtual debit and credit cards. Apple Pay's tap-to-pay service relies on NFC chips, allowing the card reader on the cash register to process payments.

Apple severely restricts access to NFC antennas, setting a very high threshold for payment providers of competitors who believe it violates EU competition rules.