Apple removes payment restrictions for App Store developers, but only in South Korea

Currently, Apple and Google have rules in place to force developers to use their own first-party App Store and Play Store payment systems. This is something that developers have been protesting in recent years, sparking further scrutiny from regulators. Last year, South Korea passed a bill to force Apple (and Google) to allow app developers to use third-party payment methods, and now, Apple has officially lifted those restrictions, but only for the South Korean App Store. 

Last year, a bill in South Korea was passed, preventing platform holders like Apple and Google from locking developers into their own payment systems. This means developers should be allowed to implement their own payment systems of choice, which in turn could mean fairer revenue splits for sales made within apps.

Now, Apple has rolled out a new developer update, confirming that developers will be able to implement third-party payment services in their apps, but only from providers approved by Apple, a requirement that has not yet been challenged by regulators.

Apple will of course still get its platform revenue cut, but it will be 26% for payments made through third-party services, rather than the usual 30% cut. This is something that Apple may want to address in the future, as a lower platform revenue cut could convince developers to just use Apple's first-party payment processing tools.

Apple has not announced plans to make this possible on the App Store globally. For now, the payment provider restrictions are only partially lifted in South Korea.

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KitGuru Says: I imagine the EU will be looking at this and preparing plans to implement similar rules for Apple and Google here too. As usual though, we can expect Apple to put up a fight. 

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