Can a UK app take payments outside the App Store?

Yes, partly. A UK app selling physical goods or real world services, such as bookings, deliveries or appointments, already has to take payment outside the App Store. For digital content and subscriptions, Google Play has allowed outside payments in the UK since 30 June 2026, but Apple still bans links to them. The Competition and Markets Authority has proposed changing that and is expected to decide before the end of 2026.

Which app payments never had to go through the App Store?

Payments for anything used outside the app never had to go through Apple or Google billing. Apple's App Store Review Guidelines , rule 3.1.3(e), say that if an app sells "physical goods or services that will be consumed outside of the app", it must use other methods, such as Apple Pay or ordinary card entry.

That covers a large share of small business apps. A restaurant ordering app, a salon booking app, a cleaning company's scheduling app, a shop selling products: none of them pay a store commission on those sales. They pay their card processor's fees, the same as a website would.

So before worrying about any of what follows, check what you are actually selling. The commission question only bites when the thing being bought lives inside the app: a premium tier, a course, extra features, credits, or a content subscription.

What does Apple allow UK apps to do with digital payments today?

Apple requires UK apps to use its own in app purchase system for digital content and features, and forbids pointing users anywhere else. Rule 3.1.1 of the guidelines says apps unlocking "subscriptions, in game currencies, game levels, access to premium content" must use in app purchase. Outside the United States storefront, apps "may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action" that send customers to another way to pay.

There are narrow exceptions. "Reader" apps, meaning apps for previously bought magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music or video, can apply for an entitlement to show one informational link to their own website for account management. Apps can also email or message their existing customers outside the app about cheaper ways to pay, because the rule only covers what happens inside the app.

The United States is the contrast worth knowing. Apple's guidelines now state that buttons and external links are allowed in apps on the United States storefront. The same app, built the same way, can show a "Buy on our website" button in America and not in Britain.

On cost, Apple's Small Business Program charges 15% commission to developers earning up to 1 million US dollars a year in proceeds. Above that threshold the standard, higher rate applies to future sales.

What changed on Google Play in the UK on 30 June 2026?

Google Play now lets UK apps use their own billing or send users to their website to pay, with a smaller fee. Google announced the change on 24 June 2026 and it took effect on 30 June in the United States, the European Economic Area and the UK.

The new structure splits what Google charges into two parts:

• A service fee of 10% on a developer's first 1 million US dollars in annual earnings, and 10% on all auto renewing subscriptions, whichever way the customer pays.
• A billing fee of 5%, charged only when the purchase goes through Google Play's own billing. Alternative billing and external web links do not pay it.

So on Android, sending a UK customer to your own checkout saves the 5% billing fee but not the service fee. You then pay your own payment provider instead. The saving is real but modest, and the bigger benefit is often owning the customer relationship: their email, their receipts, and the ability to manage their subscription yourself.

Where does the CMA steering decision stand?

The CMA has proposed rules forcing Apple and Google to allow steering in the UK, and has not yet made a final decision. "Steering" means an app telling users they can pay somewhere else, usually on the developer's website, and linking them there.

The timeline so far, from the CMA's programme page :

1. On 22 October 2025 the CMA designated Apple and Google as having strategic market status for their mobile platforms, which lets it impose conduct requirements under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
2. On 30 June 2026 it published draft steering requirements for both companies, with responses due by 28 July 2026.
3. On 14 August 2026 it published the responses. The CMA said it would decide "later this year" whether to impose the requirements.

When the page was last updated, on 20 October 2026, it showed no steering decision. Its most recent step was a separate consultation on opening iPhone contactless payment (NFC) access to wallets other than Apple Pay.

Two details in the proposal matter for planning. First, steering would not be free: Apple and Google could still charge a "fair and reasonable" fee, which the CMA expects to be lower than current app store charges. Second, the CMA said it would set principles for judging fees rather than fix a number, as Bratby Law's summary explains.

Apple has objected strongly. In its formal response, reported by 9to5Mac , Apple called the proposal price regulation and said it would give the regulator a "highly intrusive" role in its business. That opposition makes delays, changes or a legal challenge plausible even after a decision.

How should you design an app's payments so it can switch later?

Build the app so that where the customer pays is a setting, not a rebuild. The rules differ by store and by country today, and the UK position on Apple could change within months, so the expensive mistake is hard wiring one payment route into every screen.

In practice that comes down to a few decisions made early:

• Keep entitlements on your own server. Whatever the payment route, your backend should record what each customer has paid for. The app asks your server "is this person premium?" rather than asking Apple or Google directly. Store purchases and web purchases then unlock the same thing.
• Give every customer an account you own. An email address or sign in with your own system means a customer who paid on the web can log in on their phone and get what they bought.
• Build a web checkout from the start. Even if the iPhone app cannot link to it in the UK today, the Android app can, your website can, and your emails can. If Apple's rules change, the iPhone app only needs a button.
• Switch payment routes per platform and storefront. A remote setting that decides which purchase options appear, on which store, in which country, lets you respond to a rule change without waiting for a new release.
• Keep prices out of the app code. Prices that live on your server can be adjusted when the fee you pay changes.

None of this is exotic, and most of it is good practice anyway. It adds some cost at the start, which is far less than retrofitting it into a live app with paying customers. It is the approach we take when planning mobile app development for anyone selling digital content.

Does a web app avoid the store payment rules altogether?

A web app that people use in the browser is not covered by App Store or Google Play payment rules, so it can take payment however it likes. For some products, especially business tools used on a laptop as much as a phone, that is the simpler route. A web app can also run alongside a store app, handling sign up and billing while the store app handles daily use.

The trade off is discovery and convenience. Web apps do not appear in store search, and some phone features work less smoothly in the browser. The right answer depends on how your customers find you and how often they use the product.

Planning a paid app for 2027?

If you are deciding how your app should charge, and want a straight answer on what the rules mean for your idea, book a free 15 minute call .

Frequently asked questions

What is the App Store commission for a small business in the UK?

Apple's Small Business Program charges 15% on paid apps and in app purchases for developers earning up to 1 million US dollars a year in proceeds. Developers new to the App Store also qualify. Sales of physical goods and real world services do not pay App Store commission at all.

Can I tell customers my subscription is cheaper on my website?

Outside the app, yes. Apple's guidelines let developers contact their customer base about other ways to pay, for example by email. Inside a UK iPhone app, you currently cannot link or point to the cheaper price, although an Android app now can under Google's billing choice terms.

Will the CMA rules mean no commission on outside payments?

No. The draft rules would still let Apple and Google charge a fee when a user is steered to pay elsewhere. The CMA expects that fee to be fair, reasonable and lower than current app store charges, but has not proposed a specific figure.

Do I need Apple's in app purchase for a booking or delivery app?

No. Apple requires apps selling goods or services used outside the app to take payment another way, such as Apple Pay or card entry through a payment provider. That applies to bookings, appointments, food orders and physical products.