After Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled in the Epic v. Apple case that the Cupertino company must allow App Store devs to redirect users to other payment systems last year, Paddle announced what it called the industry’s “first alternative in-App Purchasing system for iOS.”
Even though Apple hasn’t changed App Store policies in these past five months, Paddle’s CEO is now saying the company signed up 1,500 developers with over $1 billion in volume for his rival payment system.
In an interview with Business Insider, Paddle CEO Christian Owens said Apple’s resistance in changing App Store policies is a joke.
“Apple is to some extent really digging their heels in to try and eke this process out for as long as possible, because obviously, the largest company in the world can probably afford to,” the CEO said. “I don’t think Apple or the iPhone would be anywhere near as successful as it is if it wasn’t for those developers and the rich ecosystem of things that they were building.”
This interview comes just after Apple has been fined for the fifth time by the Dutch antitrust regulator that ordered the company to let dating apps use third-party payments.
That said, Paddle plans to offer “all the same benefits of the App Store, without the hefty price tag, and with greater control over the user experience.”
The company explained back in October that fees for the platform will be identical to what it charges for its other revenue platform offerings: 10% for transactions under $10 and 5% for transactions over $10:
Paddle In-App Purchase is a true like-for-like, drop-in replacement for Apple’s IAP, allowing developers to maintain a seamless user experience, without having to pay Apple 30% of every sale. Paddle has a highly competitive fee structure, charging just 10% for transactions under $10, and just 5% on transactions over $10. This means that developers earn more from every purchase.
However, Owens said Apple only referred to Paddle’s competing payment system in a legal filing as “an example of how people would misuse the App Store if it was opened up.”
“We don’t want to be brazen with releasing things that maybe harms developers or gets them into trouble,” Owens said. “We absolutely want to comply with however Apple decides to implement this stuff.”
You can read the full Business Insider story here. To learn more about Paddle’s alternative payment system and how it’s going to work, click here.
Do you think Apple should allow once and for all third-party payment systems on the App Store? Or, at least, let developers redirect users to their websites? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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