The in-app payment system on the App Store has become a hot topic among government officials, with multiple countries taking cards in the matter. A new report claims that India's competition authority has jumped on the Apple regulation bandwagon, a move that will bring more attention to an issue the company would rather stop talking about.
The Competition Commission of India has ordered an investigation into Apple's in-app payment system over the next 60 days, according to a report on Friday. Apple takes between 15% and 30% of all revenues from all purchases, and requires all developers on the App Store to use its in-app payment system.
The commission is said to have begun looking into Apple's practices in September after a complaint was filed. The group claims that Apple's in-app payments raise prices for app developers, creating barriers for market entry and users alike.
Some app developers will never make it to the market because of the 30% commission. The Together We Fight Society alleged in its complaint that this could result in consumer harm.
The nonprofit states that Apple's policy hurts India's payment processors, which charge much lower commissions than the big tech company.
The nonprofit was too small of a player in India to be dropped by Apple. It has a point. According to Counterpoint Research, only 2% of the 520 million smartphones in India at the end of 2020 were Apple devices. Apple is growing fast in the country.
India would join a growing number of countries that are looking into the company's payment system or regulating it. The Netherlands ordered the company to allow dating app developers to offer users alternative payment options, a decision Apple is appealing, or risk a fine.
South Korea passed a law this year banning Apple and Google from forcing developers to use their in-app payment systems. Japan has an agreement with Apple that allows reader apps to include a single external link to alternative payment options.
Gizmodo reached out to Apple on Friday to confirm if it was being investigated by India's competition authority, but we did not hear back by the time of publication. If we do, we will make sure to update this article.
