Apple updates App Store policies to allow external payments, but with a 27% commission fee

In a move to comply with a 2021 Federal Court order, Apple has updated its Apple App Store policies allowing US developers to use external payment platforms for digital goods and services. However, the company has made it clear that it will still impose a 27% commission on web transactions conducted outside the App Store, a tax fee that has been criticized as a highly anticompetitive measure.

The company doesn't allow these payments in the app's ordinary payment flow, requiring links to be segregated into a different section of the app, away from the locations where users typically make purchases, and redirecting them to a generic web browser session where they must log in again and search for the intended digital item to buy again. On top of that, whenever a user clicks an external purchase link, Apple will show a prominent warning to discourage users from continuing (you can see it in the cover image).

To use external payment methods, developers need to adhere to the updated guidelines detailed in Section 3.1.1(a) of the App Store Review Guidelines. They must also apply for an “entitlement” to enable this feature and they will still be required to offer Apple’s in-built payment service as an option to avoid exclusivity. If developers adopt this entitlement, they will be requiered transaction reports within 15 days at the start of each month (even if there were no transactions). This new policies has made the use of external links completely unviable in the eyes of many.