Has Apple (AAPL) been too greedy in its relationship with app creators? Its competitor Meta (FB) seems to think so. Last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced a new workaround to the 30% cut of transaction fees that Apple takes from content creators on its iOS platform. The new service will provide a link for users to pay for in-app transactions via a web-based Facebook native payments system. When users make in-app purchases through this payments system, 100% of the proceeds (minus tax) are sent to the app creator.
Did Zuckerberg take inspiration from South Korea? Like Apple, Google (GOOG) also takes a cut of in-app purchases made on its Android platform. Earlier this year, South Korea’s National Assembly passed a law aimed at Google that mandates mobile app store operators allow for outside payment handlers, giving users a choice of how to pay for in-app purchases.
Last week, Google finally bent to this new law, announcing it will begin giving developers the option of using alternative payment systems — and thereby avoiding giving Google a slice of the pie.
Why it matters
Zuckerberg made clear his intentions for undercutting Apple's in-app fees. In a Facebook post by Zuck, he said "as we build for the metaverse, we're focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work. The 30% fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that." How is Tim Cook going to respond to that one?