iOS Question for Devs: Third Party Payments?

[brett429]

What are the rules for iTunes about apps using third party payment processors? For instance, givng users the option to use PayPal or another merchant account for purchases.

I know apps like Jott & Netflix use their own payment processor.

I want like to confirm that Apple has no issue with using a 3rd party payment vendor. Also curious if I would be able to use both App Store in app purchasing and a 3rd payment processor. I don't know of any apps that have both options.

Thanks!

 

[brett429]

Software publishers using a 3rd party payment processor like PayPal or FastSpring (which supports PayPal payments as well as all the typical methods), isn't an issue in working with Apple.

In most cases, Mac publishers will use the Mac Store in addition to their existing web store. They'll try to push as many orders as possible through their web store so they can avoid having to lose 30% of every sale.

Apple won't be supporting much of the functionality of full service web stores (free trials, upgrade support, cross-sells, subscription, etc.) so they're not expecting to replace web stores anytime soon, not to mention all the apps they won't accept into the Mac Store. They said recently that developers who offer a free trial should drive users to their own web sites, and they're pretty aware that plenty of sales will continue to occur through publishers' own web sites.

If you work with a full service Mac e-commerce service like FastSpring, it makes sense to use the embedded in-app purchasing SDK so that once your users download your app, they'll buy from your FastSpring embedded store so you again avoid paying the 30%, losing control over the customer relationship, etc.

I hope this has been helpful.

Very helpful! Thank you!!!

 

[Luke Redpath]

I believe you can use a third-party payment processor but if you are intending to send electronic downloads or credits or some kind of consumable add-on for your app that are used or consumed within your app, you must use the iTunes In-App Purchase system.

 

[brett429]

Software publishers using a 3rd party payment processor like PayPal or FastSpring (which supports PayPal payments as well as all the typical methods), isn't an issue in working with Apple.

In most cases, Mac publishers will use the Mac Store in addition to their existing web store. They'll try to push as many orders as possible through their web store so they can avoid having to lose 30% of every sale.

Apple won't be supporting much of the functionality of full service web stores (free trials, upgrade support, cross-sells, subscription, etc.) so they're not expecting to replace web stores anytime soon, not to mention all the apps they won't accept into the Mac Store. They said recently that developers who offer a free trial should drive users to their own web sites, and they're pretty aware that plenty of sales will continue to occur through publishers' own web sites.

If you work with a full service Mac e-commerce service like FastSpring, it makes sense to use the embedded in-app purchasing SDK so that once your users download your app, they'll buy from your FastSpring embedded store so you again avoid paying the 30%, losing control over the customer relationship, etc.

I hope this has been helpful.

Does Apple have this in writing somewhere?
Are there examples of apps that use both Apple and a 3rd party?

I appreciate your help! I will recommend your service to the dev I work with.

 

[dejo]

Does Apple have this in writing somewhere?

Start here: App Store Review Guidelines

 

[brett429]

Start here: App Store Review Guidelines

That doesn't address payments, unfortunately.

 

[dejo]

That doesn't address payments, unfortunately.

You don't think the "Purchasing and currencies" section has any relevance?

I'm not saying it has all the answers, but surely there must be something there that provides you direction. If you have further questions, then you should probably contact Apple.

 

[brett429]

You don't think the "Purchasing and currencies" section has any relevance?

I'm not saying it has all the answers, but surely there must be something there that provides you direction. If you have further questions, then you should probably contact Apple.

"Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected"

This makes it sound like you can't use services other than In App Purchase?

 

[dejo]

"Apps utilizing a system other than the In App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an app will be rejected"

"in an app" is the key, I believe. My interpretation of this is: If your app is providing the ability to purchase content, functionality or services to be used within your app, and only in your app, it must be done using In App Purchase. Jott and Netflix are services, from my understanding, that are pretty much established outside of their iOS apps and therefore the app is just providing a "hook" into their existing offerings. But, if I were to try and implement something like this I was unsure of in my app, I'd try to contact Apple to confirm first.

Maybe if you gave us more details of what you are hoping to do within your app, we can provide more direction.

 

[brett429]

"in an app" is the key, I believe. My interpretation of this is: If your app is providing the ability to purchase content, functionality or services to be used within your app, and only in your app, it must be done using In App Purchase. Jott and Netflix are services, from my understanding, that are pretty much established outside of their iOS apps and therefore the app is just providing a "hook" into their existing offerings. But, if I were to try and implement something like this I was unsure of in my app, I'd try to contact Apple to confirm first.

Maybe if you gave us more details of what you are hoping to do within your app, we can provide more direction.

That does help, though it's still a bit vague (not your fault, Apple's fault). The app I'm working with is a social networking app. Though the base app is free, there is also a subscription-based version that has more features. Right now, the user would download the subscription-based version and then use in-app purchasing to buy subscription time (30 days, 60 days, etc.).

So, you could say that the services are established outside of Apple's realm, since we don't use Apple's servers for our chat functions. However, without the app interface, there would be no app. So... that kinda leaves a gray area?