In compliance with a telco law passed in South Korea, Apple now allows developers to use third-party payment systems. The law is in conflict with both Apple and Google’s in-app payment policy that forced developers to use its payment system.
The issue was that developers had no choice but to pay the percentage charges for transactions, which was 30 per cent for Apple. However, with the law in full swing, developers could choose favourable vendors.
However, the catch is that Apple has to approve the payment solution provider, and if it is a new one, developers have to submit a form to the company’s StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement, which only applies to apps exclusive to South Korea. For globally available apps, developers have to submit a different request.
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Besides the requests, the iPhone makers said that developers could not use the third-party payment service in the same app while using the Apple in-app purchase system. Also, users must complete the purchases in-app as it would not support a web view of the process.
The restrictions are considered strategies to discourage developers from seeking third-party payment solutions. It may not be enough because many of these developers have lamented the burden of ‘Apple tax.’
Initially, Apple (and Google) had argued that the law could make it harder to protect users’ privacy and promote transaction fraud. Also, it mentioned that managing purchases could be difficult because users will have to access two different services instead of just the App Store.
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