Payment provider Stripe has released documentation guiding iOS app developers on how to avoid Apple’s App Store commission by offering alternative payment solutions. This move follows a recent ruling by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Apple-Epic antitrust case, where she strongly criticized Apple for failing to properly allow developers to accept external payments despite a prior injunction.
Stripe’s product manager, Michael Luo, shared via social media a concise guide designed to help developers integrate external payment solutions through Stripe. This system enables app developers to directly accept customer payments outside the App Store environment, thereby avoiding Apple’s controversial commission structure altogether.
To date, Apple allowed developers to link to external websites for purchases, but significantly limited savings, cutting fees from the standard 30% commission down by just 3% for payments processed externally. Additionally, Apple introduced warning screens aimed at cautioning users about transactions completed outside their ecosystem. Judge Rogers found that Apple’s approach neither conformed to her earlier injunction nor followed its intended spirit, leading her to mandate immediate adjustments to Apple’s policies.
In response, Stripe provided clear steps to developers looking to initiate payments via Stripe Checkout. Through a secure, Stripe-hosted payment interface, customers are redirected to a reliable and independent transaction platform operated by Stripe. While the integration of external payments does present hurdles—developers must set up and manage their own checkout experiences—the potential savings are substantial. Stripe’s fees are considerably lower, charging 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction compared with Apple’s longtime standard of 30% or its reduced rate of 15% available under certain conditions.
The reaction to Stripe’s announcement has been overwhelmingly positive. Known Apple critic David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails and co-owner of software maker 37Signals, praised Stripe’s guidance, highlighting that changes to Apple’s policy would unlock new business opportunities in the app development space. He noted that business models previously made untenable by Apple’s commission regime could now become feasible, ushering in potentially transformative economic opportunities for developers on iOS.
