Apple has announced that it will allow Dutch dating app developers to accept independent third-party payments outside of the AppStore.
This is due to changes in payment policies ordered by the Dutch Consumer Market Authority. Apple was also under investigation from the viewpoint of antitrust laws in the Netherlands, and by January 15, it was ordered to change the AppStore to allow external payments or pay a fine. Since the investigation was focused on dating apps, Apple allowed external payments only for developers of dating apps in the Netherlands.
However, the Consumer Market Bureau said in response to this announcement, ``We will evaluate whether Apple's response is appropriate.'' In fact, although Apple announced that it would accept its own payment, it did not provide any specific details, making the content unclear.
Apple has been protesting against the investigations and regulations on in-app payments ``tied'' in each country, saying ``safety cannot be guaranteed'' as usual.
However, if external payments are widely accepted, major payment companies may offer payment services with lower fees than Apple's payment system. If it is a company with a certain degree of name recognition and a track record, it should have a solid payment system and refunds.
So far, in response to a lot of backlash, the 30% fee charged for billing using Apple's payment system has been reduced to 15% for small businesses. However, AppStore sales exceeded $34 billion (approximately 3.9 trillion yen) in the third quarter of 2021, and Apple's profits without commissions are considered to be substantial. With that in mind, the loss from allowing external payments is very painful for Apple.
Considering the current state of investigations in many countries over the App Store and Google Play store, it is expected that such regulatory movements will further expand, and the movements of each country that received this order. Also pay attention to