Apple and Google’s proprietary tap to pay technology is under threat with the US Government moving to put in place new rules around the collection and sharing of consumer financial data.

According to Bloomberg the two tech giants have already been warned about being overly restrictive in access to payments with Apple seen as the biggest offender.

In the USA and Australia these two Companies dominate the mobile-device tap-to-pay market, and the constraints they impose on app developers’ ability to use the technology could inhibit consumer choice claims the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Apple who are raking in billions from their services and apps require iOS device users to turn to Apple Pay for tap-to-pay transactions, barring direct integration with other payment gateway apps.

On the other hand, Google’s Android operating system does not.

However, there are concerns that Google “could reverse this position in the future,” the bureau said.

“The CFPB will continue to work with these entities and take appropriate steps to ensure that Big Tech companies do not impede the development of open ecosystems for digital payments,” the agency said in a report published last night.

ChannelNews understands that the ACCC who are reviewing Apple and Google services have also had a look at the way both Companies collect transaction data.

Tap-to-pay transactions have exploded in recent years as mobile devices became ever-present, making paying via a smartphone more and more desirable.

Australia is way ahead of Europe in the use of tap and pay where a lot of businesses still prefer cash. In Berlin during IFA several convenience stores insisted on cash only transactions.

In Europe Apple is facing a fresh round of European Union antitrust scrutiny after the bloc’s competition investigators dispatched a series of questions to retailers as part of an ongoing probe into the iPhone maker’s closely guarded payments chip.

The move, confirmed by a European Commission spokesperson in May, comes on the heels of formal EU antitrust charges against Apple a year earlier, which claimed that its actions restricted competition in the market for mobile wallets on iOS devices.

In the USA the bureau is preparing to release regulations on open banking, which would essentially dictate how financial firms share consumer data. Large technology companies such as Apple and Google impact whether consumers can make payments using third-party apps, said Rohit Chopra, the agency’s director.

“We are carefully evaluating Big Tech’s role in our banking and payments system,” Chopra said in a statement announcing the report. Almost two years ago, the CFPB told big tech companies to turn over information on their payments systems, foreshadowing further actions by the bureau.

Earlier this year, Apple confirmed plans to let merchants accept payments through Apple Pay, credit cards and digital wallets without additional hardware, giving them an alternative to Block Inc.’s Square technology. Consumers using iOS devices are still restricted to Apple Pay when tapping to pay.