Britain’s competition regulator wants to make one of Apple’s most profitable businesses a lot less profitable, and if the plan goes through, UK iPhone users could eventually pay less for apps and subscriptions.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) unveiled proposals this week to prevent Apple from preventing developers from directing customers to payment options outside the App Store.
Instead of forcing every purchase through Apple’s own billing system, developers could link users to their own websites or third-party payment processors.
Today, Apple takes a commission of up to 30% on many App Store purchases. Developers have long argued that those fees force them to charge higher prices, while Apple says the commissions pay for security, fraud protection, and the App Store itself.
The CMA isn’t saying Apple has to allow these alternative payment options for free. But it does say any fee Apple charges developers for using them should be lower than its existing App Store commission.
Some developers already offer lower prices in markets where customers can pay outside the App Store because they avoid Apple’s commission. Others simply keep the extra margin.
While the CMA stops short of telling Apple how to price its services, it says any cost savings should be passed on to consumers or reinvested in app development.
The regulator is also exploring another change that could have an even bigger impact over time: opening the iPhone’s NFC chip to more developers.
Right now, Apple Pay has exclusive access to much of the iPhone’s contactless payment functionality. If those restrictions are lifted, banks, retailers, and payment companies could build their own tap-to-pay experiences instead of relying solely on Apple Pay.
Apple, unsurprisingly, isn’t on board. The company argues that letting developers bypass its payment system would make it easier for scammers to trick users, weaken parental controls, and create a less secure experience. Apple says it plans to continue making that case during the CMA’s consultation process.
The regulator has considerably more leverage than it did a few years ago. After designating iOS and iPadOS as having “strategic market status” in 2025, the CMA gained new powers to impose targeted rules on companies it believes have outsized control over digital markets.
These latest proposals also build on commitments Apple made earlier this year to make the App Store fairer, including changes to app rankings and better access for developers to iOS features.
Nothing changes overnight. The proposals are still under consultation, and Apple is expected to challenge parts of them before any final rules are adopted.
But if they survive that process, UK developers could gain far more freedom over how they sell digital goods, and over time, that could finally introduce some real price competition inside Apple’s ecosystem.
