BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Court of Justice ruled on Wednesday that the Hungarian state’s monopoly over national mobile payment services was illegal.

The ruling would require the end of exclusive control over Hungarian mobile payments exercised since July 2014 by state-owned firm Nemzeti Mobilfizetesi Zrt.

This exclusive operation “is contrary to EU law,” the bloc’s top court said in a statement.

“Even if the services provided under that system constitute services of general economic interest, their supply cannot be reserved to a state monopoly,” the court added.