Payment processing software provider Fringe is ready to help iOS app developers bypass Apple's App Store transaction cuts.
After ruling yesterday in the Apple-Epic antitrust trial, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers completely humiliated Apple because she did not allow external payment links in the app she previously ruled, STRIPE STRIPE shared documents showing how iOS developers avoid Apple committees.
Stripe product manager Michael Luo said in a post on X that the team “cooked for a quick guide” that led iOS developers through how to accept payments using stripes outside their apps so they could take advantage of new options, which the court decision made possible.
Apple allowed developers to link to external websites for purchases, but reduced their commissions by only 3% by 3% and added "Scare Screens" to warn consumers about the potential dangers of paying developers outside their app store. Judge Rogers said Apple's policy did not comply with the spirit or law in accordance with its previous injunctions and ordered the company to change its policies immediately.
Stripe's new documentation explains how developers set up links in their apps to pay with digital merchandise on Stripe Checkout. The company said the option will redirect app customers to a new, striped hosted payment page as part of a new checkout experience.
Of course, using Stripe is not as simple as leveraging Apple's default options for in-app purchases, as it requires developers to set up and maintain their own payment pages and checkout experience. However, Stripe's standard payment processing fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, making it a cheaper alternative to Apple's 30% commission (even its 15% select app commission, such as Apple's small BIZ plan or subscription app, starting year two).
Stripe's announcement is already intriguing, and the news is that eager developers have received thousands of likes on X.
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Book nowLongtime Apple critic David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on Rails and co-owner of 37Signals, which makes software like BaseCamp and Hey praise Stripe's solutions. Hansson has had several arguments with Apple over the years for rejecting Hey's email and calendar apps because they were set up to avoid using Apple's in-app purchase mechanism.
On X, Hansson suggested changing Apple's policies now allow external payments will make it possible for more businesses on the App Store.
"Apple's losses in court immediately opened up a whole new world for app developers," he said. "Under the old 30% regime, the entire business model was impossible."