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The ambiguous end of the Epic v. Apple has opened a small loophole in Apple’s control over inbuilt payments on the iPhone – and now a small developer is trying to navigate it.
A company called Paddle has announced its own integrated payment system which will take a smaller reduction than Apple’s system – 5-10%, instead of the 15-30% reduction claimed by Apple. It’s a way around the commission fees that started the fight with Epic in the first place and will likely be the start of a new fight for the developers.
Paddle’s system is designed to take advantage of the Epic verdict against Apple, which required Apple to allow external payment links. Before the verdict, an App Store rule banned “external links or other calls to action that direct customers to buying mechanisms” – but the judge found this rule violated anti-leadership laws . The Paddle system offers just such an external link, directing users to an external page where they can pay before returning to the application. It certainly adds friction to the process, but it’s a far cry from the workarounds you should be following if you wanted to bypass Apple’s IAP system today.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment on whether apps using the system would be allowed on the App Store.
One of Paddle’s main selling points is its fees – Apple takes a 30% discount (or a 15% discount if you make less than $ 1 million on the App Store in a year) on purchases. built-in for most developers. Paddle offers a 10% discount on payments under $ 10 and a 5% fee plus $ 0.50 on payments over $ 10. It’s not hard to see how appealing the switch from Apple’s payment system would be to some developers.
The real test will be how the apps that include Paddle payments perform when reviewing the apps. If Apple wants to find any rule violations in apps that use Paddle, it most likely will. The company said it was trying to figure out how it can change its rules to comply with the judge’s order, but so far the new rules have not been made public.
Paddle says The edge in an emailed statement that the company was waiting to see how the details of the decision were implemented and that it has built a few versions of its system to make it easier to adapt to Apple’s rules, whatever they are be. It plans to launch its in-app payment service on Dec. 7, and the CEO of the company has said he “would be happy to see Apple’s advice on that to provide more clarity.” Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Paddle’s plans.
You may also want to keep in mind the privacy implications of allowing developers to communicate with users, as mentioned in the command. While this has some benefits (like involving developers in the refund process), you may want to keep in mind that you can share your email address when referred to a Paddle payment screen.
Paddle also lists other benefits of its IAP platform, such as the ability for developers to price their app however they want without worrying about Apple approval, the ability to set prices country by country, and the possibility of providing coupons. And, of course, the smallest cut.
As this is the first big challenge for Apple’s own IAP system since the decision, it’s likely to get a lot of attention (Epic CEO Tim Sweeney already tweets about it). Part of what makes the proposition so exciting is that, so far, the arguments on either side have been mostly theoretical. If a competing in-app purchasing system really starts to be integrated with apps and takes off, we’ll see if the competition will improve Apple’s service, as some developers have argued, or if it will lead to a worse proliferation of apps. scams, where developers charge $ 100 a year for a weather app, as Apple has suggested.
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