Apple will allow third party payment systems to be used on App Store apps for the first time ever in South Korea.
The company has submitted its planned changes in response to a new South Korean law that bans app store operators from excluding alternative payment methods. As reported by The Korea Herald, Apple has announced that it will now allow third party systems to operate at a lower service charge than its current 30 percent.
There’s no news on precisely how much lower than 30 percent this cut will be, nor when these changes will be implemented. However, Apple has said that it will be working with the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to implement the new set-up.
“Apple has a great deal of respect for Korea’s laws and a strong history of collaboration with the country’s talented app developers,” the company said in a statement. “Our work will always be guided by keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for our users to download the apps they love.”
Apple’s announcement follows on from Google making a similar pledge in November of last year. Google will drop its own fee by 4% for app developers who choose to use alternative payment systems.
South Korea became the first country to rule against such restrictive app store practices in August of last year. Now that both of the major app stores have agreed to compromise in one territory, it will be interesting to see if other countries follow suit.
Last month Apple successfully delayed efforts to enforce a similar relaxing of App Store policy in its home market following its well publicised court case with Epic.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
