🖇 Apple legal filing indicates it intends to collect commission regardless of whether developers use IAP or a competing payments platform

Benjamin Mayo, writing for 9to5Mac

Apple currently charges a 15–30% commission on in-app purchases and basically all digital goods purchases must use Apple’s In-App Purchase system. Apple currently forbids apps from linking out to the web to offer an alternate payment system, outside of Apple’s purview.

However, the Epic-Apple decision as it stands today will mean that Apple must relax that policy and allow external links. The ruling does not prevent Apple from collecting a commission on these purchases, though.

The document reads that if the injunction were to go into effect, Apple could charge a commission on purchases made through such mechanisms. Apple CEO Tim Cook had signaled this intent in a court hearing earlier this year.

Google has already announced a similar policy for its app store. Google has said it will allow developers to use alternative payment systems, but it intends to collect an 11% commission on these transactions regardless — only 4% cheaper than if the developer used the Google Play payment system directly.

This is what I assumed might happen. Now it’s in black and white. The in-app purchase system is a convenient way for Apple to charge for all the services that the App Store provides developers.