As some of you might have heard, there is an increase in the number of governments and regulators around the world who are asking that Apple allow alternative payment systems for its app store. This is so that Apple will not take a cut, which is around 30%, from app sales and in-app purchases.
However, Apple recently stated that they still want to receive a cut regardless, but did not mention how much they would be expecting. Now according to Apple’s own support page, it appears that the company is looking at a “reduced” commission so instead of developers paying Apple 30%, they “only” have to pay 27%.
According to Apple, this will be a 27% cut of the price paid by the user, net of any VAT. The company says that “this is a reduced rate that excludes value related to payment processing and related activities”. We have to say that a reduction of around 3% is hardly appealing and we’re not sure if regulators will go for it.
Not to mention, keep in mind that pretty much all payment systems do charge some kind of fee for using their services, which means that it is possible that developers might end up paying more. However, it is possible that this is what Apple has always intended to make its own payment system seem like the “cheaper” alternative.