Apple will allow Dutch dating apps to use other payment options within existing apps

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Apple published a new version of its App Store rules that allow local dating apps to take payments through third-party processors in order to bring an end to the wrangling with Dutch regulators. Apple was fined 50 million euros by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets for failing to comply with a December ruling.

Apple had previously announced that it would allow dating apps to use alternative payment systems, but it imposed various conditions on how they could do so. The Dutch App Store requires developers to submit a separate app and choose between using the in-app payment system or a third-party version, rather than being able to offer both in the same app. It said it would collect a 27 percent commission on payments made using alternative payment systems.

Apple is giving up on its insistence on a separate binaries for apps that see outside payment systems. This change means that developers may include entitlement in their existing dating app, but still must limit its use to the app in the Netherlands storefront and on devices running iOS or iPadOS.

Image: Apple

Apple says the order will lead to threats to user privacy and data security. Apple still disagrees with the original order and is appealing it.

Consistent with the ACM’s order, dating apps that are granted an entitlement to link out or use a third-party in-app payment provider will pay Apple a commission on transactions. Apple will charge a 27% commission on the price paid by the user, net of value-added taxes. This is a reduced rate that excludes value related to payment processing and related activities. Developers will be responsible for the collection and remittance of any applicable taxes, such as the Netherlands’ value-added tax (VAT), for sales processed by a third-party payment provider.

Developers using these entitlements will be required to provide a report to Apple recording each sale of digital goods and content that has been facilitated through the App Store. This report will need to be provided monthly within 15 calendar days following the end of Apple’s fiscal month. To learn about the details that will need to be included in the report, view an example report. Qualifying developers will receive an invoice based on the reporting and will be required to remit payment to Apple for the amount invoiced within 45 days following the end of Apple’s fiscal month. In the future, if Apple develops technical solutions to facilitate reporting, developers will be required to adopt such technologies.

The policy will be presented to market participants for consultation if they accept the terms.

There is only one type of software on the App Store that is at the center of the dispute. It is part of a wave of antitrust scrutiny that Apple is facing around the world. The EU's Digital Markets Act could require support for external payment processors in all apps after it goes into effect this fall, while South Korea recently passed a similar law. A US judge ordered Apple to allow developers to link out to other payment options after Apple's in-app payments system was the focus of a recent high-profile court battle. The order was put on hold pending an appeal.

There was an update on March 30th, 6:15PM.