Apple clarifies it will still collect a commission from Dutch developers using third-party payments; Google will too in South Korea, just lowering its fee by 4%
Apple and Google are responding through different country-specific terms: Apple preserves a charge for Dutch developers, while Google applies a 4% reduction in South Korea. That distinction matters because payment-routing concessions can alter the fee level without ending platform monetization.
First-order effects
Dutch developers choosing third-party payments still owe Apple a commission, limiting the immediate margin benefit of switching away from Apple’s payment flow.
Google’s South Korean developers gain a 4% lower commission for third-party payments, while Google retains a revenue claim on those transactions.
Second-order effects
Apple’s Dutch terms and Google’s South Korean discount establish competing benchmarks for developers assessing whether external payment integration is worth its operational cost.
Payment providers serving these developers gain an opening to process transactions, but their economics must compete with platform fees that remain in place.
Third-order effects
The pattern points toward regulated payment choice being negotiated through market-by-market fee schedules rather than a uniform end to app-store commissions.
The trend: App-store regulation is pushing Apple and Google toward country-specific alternatives to mandatory in-app payments while preserving some form of platform commission.
(4) As Apple controls the (opaque) App Review process, it can for instance make the life of app developers seeking to take advantage of the ACM decision miserable. The @AutoriteitCM should pay attention to the risk of retaliation.
The Netherlands requires Apple to allow dating apps to use third-party payment processors. And Apple will now switch to some yet-to-be-defined commission structure to, presumably, collect the same payments. Yes. Never about payment processing. Just an easy monetization tool. http…
Dutch Regulators to Meet With Dating App Providers to Assess Apple's Plan for Alternate In-App Payment Options https://www.macrumors.com/... by @SamiFathi_ https://twitter.com/...
The idea that Apple believes it's entitled to 4% (something like 150% of the actual credit card transaction cost) of an off-platform payment experience is... is something. https://twitter.com/...
Apple's approach to allowing 3rd party payments for IAPs in Netherlands will follow Google's approach in South Korea. Developers will still need to pay Apple a fee even if they use Stripe,etc. Google reduced their fee by 4% meaning there's zero benefit. https://mobiledevmemo.com/…
Apple & Google are going to tell developers “Fine instead of 30%, the fee is now 26% and after giving Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ plus a worse UX, you'll be worse off”. This is a diabolical way to meet the letter but not the spirit of laws. World class legal judo. https://t.co/YNXHgEeQdQ
“Apple just clarified alternative payments on iOS” https://mobiledevmemo.com/... by @eric_seufert The burden of alt payment will be high. Long live IAPs