Payment processing software provider Stripe is ready to help iOS app developers bypass Apple’s App Store transaction cuts.
Following the ruling in yesterday’s Apple-EPIC antitrust trial, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers shared documentation showing iOS developers how to get around the Apple Commission, as he was completely ashamed of Apple for not allowing external payment links for the app, as he previously ruled.
In an X post, Stripe Product Manager Michael Luo said he “cooked a quick guide” to show iOS developers how their team can accept payments using Stripe outside the app, making new options available to them by court decisions.
Apple allowed developers to link to external websites to make purchases, but reduced the fees by 3% by 30% and added “Scare Screens” which warns consumers about the potential risks they pay developers outside the App Store. Judge Rogers said Apple’s policies did not follow either the spirit or the letter of law in terms of her previous injunction and ordered the company to change that policy immediately.
The new Stripe documentation explains how developers can set up links within the app and accept iOS payments for digital products using Stripe checkout. The option will redirect app customers to a secure stripe host payment page, the company said, as part of the new checkout experience.
Of course, using Stripe is not as easy as taking advantage of Apple’s default options for in-app purchases, as developers need to set up and maintain their own payment pages and checkout experience. However, Stripe’s standard payment processing fee is 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction, which replaces Apple’s 30% fee (or 15% fees like Apple’s small BIZ program or subscription apps from the second year).
The Stripe announcement has already gained traction, and the news has earned X thousands of likes from enthusiastic developers.
TechCrunch Events
Berkeley, California
|
June 5th
Book now
Longtime Apple critic David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails and co-owner of 37signals, and also praises Stripe’s solutions for software such as Basecamp and Hey. For many years, Hansson has repeatedly refuted Apple for rejecting Hey’s email and calendar apps because it was set to not use Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism.
In X, Hansson proposed that changes to Apple’s policies would allow more business in the App Store by allowing external payments.
“Apple’s court losses are quickly opening up a whole new world for app developers,” he says. “Under the old 30% administration, the entire business model was impossible.”
