The U.K.'s competition regulator has proposed letting app developers direct users to payment options outside Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, in a move aimed at increasing competition and reducing the fees charged by the two companies.
As reported by Reuters, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the proposals would remove restrictions that currently prevent U.K. developers from directing users to off-platform payment options.
The regulator said any fees Apple and Google charge developers for enabling such "steering" must be fair and reasonable, remain below existing App Store and Play Store commissions, and allow developers to either pass savings on to consumers or reinvest them in innovation.
The CMA said it was also considering making Apple open up access to its near-field communication (NFC) technology, which is used for Apple Pay contactless payments. This would allow developers to potentially offer alternative payment options within their own apps.
Last year, Apple was designated with strategic market status (SMS) in the U.K. for iOS and iPadOS, which enables the CMA to initiate targeted interventions designed to open the platforms to greater competition.
Apple has previously said it does not support allowing developers to direct users to off-platform payments. The company argues this could undermine user security and fraud protections, and limit its ability to verify transactions.
An Apple spokesperson told Reuters it could open the door to "scams, bait-and-switch tactics, and the circumvention of parental controls."
"When users are directed away from Apple's trusted payment infrastructure, they lose the protections they rely on Apple to provide," the spokesperson said, adding the U.S. tech giant would continue to "make our concerns clear" to the CMA.
In February, Apple and Google agreed to a series of changes aimed at making their app stores fairer for developers. Under terms published by the CMA, both companies said they will ensure apps are reviewed and ranked on their app stores in a "fair, objective and transparent way," without discrimination against apps that compete with their own services.
Apple must allow developers to more easily request access to iOS features and functionality, which could clear the way for third-party apps to better compete with Apple's own services.
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