Britain’s competition regulator wants to make it easier for app developers to send customers around Apple and Google’s in-app payment systems and one of the two companies says it has already gotten there first. Will another tech giant follow suit?
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UK regulator proposes payment “steering” rules
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed on June 30 that UK developers be allowed to direct users toward alternative payment options outside the App Store and Play Store, aiming to cut fees and boost competition in the mobile app market. The watchdog said the change would remove restrictions that currently block this kind of “steering,” which Apple bans outright and Google restricts.
Any fees the two companies charge for allowing steering would need to be “fair and reasonable,” according to the CMA, and lower than existing app store commissions, with savings expected to reach consumers or fund further innovation. CMA Digital Markets executive director Will Hayter said Apple and Google deserve compensation for their services, but that any charges need to be backed by an evidence-based assessment of cost and value.
The regulator is also weighing whether to force Apple to open up its near-field communication (NFC) chip, which currently powers Apple Pay, so developers could build their own contactless payment features into iOS apps. The proposals sit within the UK’s digital markets regime, which lets the CMA impose tailored rules on firms designated with “strategic market status” — a label already applied to both companies’ mobile ecosystems. A final decision is expected later this year, after further consultation with developers and platform operators.
Google says it already made these changes
Google’s response to the CMA was essentially: already done. The company pointed to new Play Store terms that took effect June 30 in the US, UK and European Economic Area, letting developers route Android users to external billing regardless of which payment method they use. Under the revised structure, Google charges a 10% service fee on a developer’s first $1 million in annual earnings no matter the billing method, with an added 5% charged only when developers use Google Play’s own billing system. Transactions handled through external links carry no separate billing fee. The changes stem from Google’s long-running legal dispute with Epic Games, which forced a sharp cut to the previous 30% commission.
Apple holds the line
Apple has taken the opposite public stance. A company spokesperson said steering users outside Apple’s payment system could expose them to “scams, bait-and-switch tactics, and the circumvention of parental controls,” and that protections tied to Apple’s payment framework disappear once a transaction moves off-platform. Apple did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the CMA proposal itself, though the CMA said it will factor in Google’s recent changes as it decides whether to impose formal requirements on both companies.
Other markets are pushing in the same direction
The UK isn’t acting in isolation. The CMA noted that steering has also drawn regulatory attention in the European Union, the United States and Japan. External payment links are already permitted for iOS apps in the EU under the Digital Markets Act, in the US following the Epic v. Apple court rulings, and in South Korea under an amended telecommunications law, though Korea’s rule applies only to Korea-specific app builds. Japan’s Mobile Software Competition Act, in force since December 2025, similarly opened the door to alternative payment processing outside Apple’s in-app purchase system. Apple still charges commissions on many of these external transactions, ranging roughly from 5% to 20% depending on the market and tier, meaning “external billing” has not yet translated into commission-free payments anywhere Apple operates.
