Should you switch to an external payments platform for iOS apps in the US?

At the start of this month (May 2025), a legal ruling forced Apple to remove their ban on linking to external payment systems from apps distributed via the App Store in the US. This opens up developers to bypass Apple's payment system, and with it, the surcharge of 15-30% on all subscriptions and in-app purchases. Increasing your margin by up to 30% sounds tempting, so you might be wondering what you should do.

If you're a small to medium company currently allowing users to manage subscriptions and make in-app purchases in your app, my recommendation (for the time being) is to stay with Apple payments. Read on to find out why.

What exactly changed for developers?

First, let's take a look at what changed.

Before the ruling, you were already able to take payment for digital goods and services outside of the app, via whatever payment method you chose. However, you weren't allowed to make any reference to that inside the app. That made it prohibitive for most apps, because with a 'call-to-action', or at least some signposting to how to pay for the thing users want, you're unlikely to make many conversions. If you've ever tried to buy a Kindle book from the iOS Amazon app, you'll know what I mean.

The ruling forced the following changes:

1. Apps can include buttons, calls-to-action, and external links in apps without restriction.
2. Apps can encourage users to use a payment method other than Apple's in-app purchases.
3. Importantly, this only applies to apps listed in the US App Store.

These exceptions to Apple's base line rules in the US join those of a handful of other territories, including the EU Digital Markets Act changes that came into effect in 2024 EU App Store changes. The ones in the US are the most permissive for developers.

The changes were brought into force quickly, and were much more sweeping than Apple had hoped. Because Apple will potentially lose a large chunk of income, over time they're likely to want to recoup that in other ways. It remains to be seen what that might look like, and the landscape is changing quickly.

Why sticking with Apple payments might still be your best option

For small to medium companies currently allowing users to manage subscriptions and make in-app purchases, I recommend continuing to use Apple Payments, despite the 15-30% surcharge.

Payments platform with native functionality

There's a common misconception that Apple take their surcharge in return for nothing. However you do get something - a payments platform that handles everything for you, including:

• A flow familiar to and trusted by users, with Apple ecosystem integration
• Subscription management, i.e. billing cycles, trials, upgrades, downgrades, cancellations
• Purchase recovery
• Promotional offers and discounts
• Re-engagement offers
• Refunds handling
• Family sharing and Ask to Buy
• Fraud prevention and payment security
• Global support for localised currencies, tax, and regional compliance
• Analytics and reporting

For smaller companies, this offers reasonable value for money. If you use an external payment provider, you'll have to pay for their services, and potentially manage more of the above yourself, an additional, hidden cost.

You still have to support Apple payments

Even if you opt to use your own payments system, you can't switch entirely.

1. You can only direct users to alternative payment systems in the US.
2. At the time of writing, it looks like you still have to offer Apple in-app purchases. That means a user could choose either an external payment or stick with Apple.

If you opt for external payments, you'll have two systems to manage instead of one.

Simpler user journey

If you want users to choose external payments, you have to direct them to an external browser. This makes the user journey more complex, and might increase funnel drop-out.

When external payments do make sense

External payments will be the best option for some companies.

Many larger companies have probably already released the app updates to take advantage of external payments. The 30% fees are extortionate beyond a certain point, and aren't indicative of the unit cost for Apple to process payments. It's much more cost effective for those companies to manage their own payments.

If you're somewhere between small and massive, you'll need to weigh up the costs. If the margin you would save by moving away from Apple payments more than offsets your increased internal costs, then it could be time to make the move.

As time goes on, I expect to see more suppliers offering solutions for app payment platforms. These will package the benefits that you currently get with Apple's payments, but open up competition. This will make the cost fairer for all developers, and decrease the size a company needs to be before moving to external payment platforms becomes cost effective.

Summary

For the time being, I'd recommend small to medium app companies stay with Apple payments. This will:

• Keep payments management simple
• Keep user journeys simple
• Avoid hidden costs

However, keep weighing up your costs, and keep an eye on the changing landscape.

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January 26, 2024

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