- Apple is forced to open its integrated payment methods for the very first time.
- Developers have long decried the system. Regulators around the world are also paying attention.
- This is where Apple faces regulatory backlash for making apps use its own payment system.
Since Apple launched the App Store in 2008, the tech giant has controlled most aspects of the platform’s operation, including Byzantine requirements for app approvals and reliance on internal systems.
The approach has created a relatively seamless user experience and a business that generates billions of dollars a year in high-margin service revenue for the iPhone maker.
However, some developers have long lamented the way Apple requires apps to use its payment system, necessitating a 15-30% reduction in transactions. Complaints have become so vocal that antitrust regulators around the world have launched investigations and are even forcing the company to offer alternatives.
Apple is trying to fight the changes on all fronts, but the number of regulatory attacks likely means lucrative bricks could soon be pulled from the company’s walled garden.
Here’s a look at where Apple is under pressure to open up its App Store to more competition, especially in payments:
