App Store Payment Steering Could Force Apple to Cut Commission Fees

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has proposed letting app developers steer users toward payment options outside Apple’s App Store, a move that cuts closer to Apple’s core business model than most regulatory actions in recent years. The CMA’s new proposal would require any fees Apple or Google charge for permitting that steering to stay below standard commission rates, which currently sit around 30 percent for many transactions.

The practical logic is straightforward: if developers can point buyers toward cheaper billing options, competition should push prices down for consumers buying digital goods. Google has claimed it already adjusted its Play Store to allow this kind of steering, but the CMA’s proposal would codify the requirement across all major platforms rather than relying on voluntary compliance.

NFC Access Adds a Harder Problem for Apple

The regulator is also considering forcing Apple to open its near-field communication chip to third-party developers. That technology powers contactless payments, and keeping it locked to Apple Pay has long been a structural advantage for the company in the digital wallet space. Letting developers build their own wallets directly inside apps would remove one of the few remaining hardware-level moats Apple controls on its own devices.

Apple’s response followed a familiar pattern. A spokesperson told reporters the company strongly opposes steering users to outside payment systems, arguing it could undermine transaction security and complicate parental controls. The company also raised the possibility of scams and bait-and-switch tactics, warnings it has deployed in similar App Store commission disputes elsewhere.

Those security concerns are not invented, but they arrive conveniently packaged with Apple’s financial interests. The company said it plans to keep engaging with the CMA, which is the standard language for a prolonged negotiation rather than a concession. Given how aggressively fraudulent apps have exploited store infrastructure before, including cases where disguised apps reached top charts through coordinated installs, the security argument at least has real-world texture, even if the timing is self-serving.