UK Regulator Proposes Easing App Store Payment Rules

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has proposed rules that would let app developers direct UK users to payment options outside the Apple App Store and Google Play, a move aimed squarely at the commissions both platforms charge on in app transactions and the restrictions each imposes on so called steering.

At a Glance

• CMA proposal issued Tuesday, June 30, targets Apple and Google app store rules in the UK
• Developers would gain the right to steer users to off platform payment methods
• Any steering fees charged by the platforms must be fair, reasonable, and below current commission rates
• CMA is also weighing mandatory NFC access on iOS for third party contactless payments
• Google says it already complies via new Play Store terms introduced this month

What the CMA Is Actually Proposing

The regulator's plan targets a specific mechanic: the ability of a developer to tell a user, inside or alongside an app, that cheaper payment exists elsewhere. Apple currently bars this practice outright in most cases. Google restricts it, though less absolutely. The CMA wants both restrictions lifted for UK developers, with a caveat that matters to anyone who has followed antitrust fights over app stores in the US and EU: any fee the platforms charge for allowing that steering has to be fair and reasonable, and specifically lower than the commission currently baked into first party in app purchases.

That last detail is the substantive part. Regulators in multiple jurisdictions have already forced Apple and Google to permit external links or alternative billing, only to see the platforms impose new fees on those alternative flows that approximate the original commission. The CMA's framing, that steering fees must sit below existing app store commissions, is designed to prevent that outcome from repeating in the UK market.

NFC Access on the Table

Separately, the CMA is considering whether to force Apple to open its near field communication hardware and APIs to third party developers on iOS. Today, NFC based contactless payment on iPhone is effectively gated to Apple Pay and Apple Wallet for point of sale transactions. Opening that layer would let developers build their own contactless payment functionality directly into their apps rather than routing through Apple's stack, a change with implications for banks, wallets, and loyalty platforms operating in the UK.

This element of the proposal is not final. The CMA describes it as something it is