App Store Developers in South Korea Can Now Use Alternative Payment Providers
Apple has informed App Store developers in South Korea that they can now begin offering users alternative payment systems in their apps. The change comes after the country passed a law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their own in-app purchase systems.
Apple's developer update on apps distributed in South Korea begins with Apple saying that the App Store was designed "to be a safe and trusted place to discover and download apps," but continues by explaining that the change is simply to ensure that the company is complying with local law:
The Telecommunications Business Act in South Korea was recently amended to mandate that apps distributed by app market operators in South Korea be allowed to offer an alternative payment processing option within their apps. To comply with this law, developers can use the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement. This entitlement allows apps distributed on the App Store solely in South Korea the ability to provide an alternative in-app payment processing option. Developers who want to continue using Apple's in-app purchase system may do so and no further action is needed.
Apple goes on to caution developers that using the entitlement will cause some App Store features like Ask to Buy and Family Sharing to be unavailable to their users. The reason for this, Apple explains, is because payments that take place outside of the App Store's own payment system cannot be validated. As such:
"Apple will not be able to assist users with refunds, purchase history, subscription management, and other issues encountered when purchasing digital goods and services through an alternative purchasing method."
Apple provides developers with a list of pre-approved payment service providers (PCPs) in South Korea that includes KCP, Incise, Toss, and NICE. Developers can still use a different PSP, but it must meet the same criteria of having a secure payment processing system and an established track record of protecting user privacy. Notably, Apple will earn a 26% commission on all processed sales, despite the Korean regulator's misgivings about commissions taken on third-party payment systems.
Developers interested in using the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement for apps in South Korea can get started by submitting an entitlement request form.
Related Stories
Apple will let App Store developers offer alternative payment systems in South Korea after the country passed a law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their own in-app purchase systems, reports The Korea Herald.
Apple still plans to charge a reduced fee on purchases made through alternative payment systems, according to plans the company submitted to the Korea...
Thursday February 3, 2022 2:36 am PST by
Sami FathiApple's plans to allow developers to use third-party alternative payments methods within their apps in South Korea "lacks concrete detail," according to South Korea's Communications Commission (KCC).
In August, South Korea passed a law that bans app store operators from requiring developers to use their in-app purchase systems. Last month, Apple submitted its compliance plans to the KCC that ...
Wednesday September 29, 2021 7:18 am PDT by
Sami FathiApple and Google have been asked to provide compliance plans for a newly amended law in South Korea that bars both tech giants from forcing developers to using their in-app purchase payment system for their respective app distribution platforms, Reuters reports.
In August, South Korea passed an amendment to an existing law that bans Apple and Google from mandating developers to use their own ...
South Korea may soon ban Apple and Google from requiring app developers to use their in-app purchase systems, reports Reuters.
South Korea's legislation and judiciary committee is expected to approve an "Anti-Google Law" that amends the existing Telecommunications Business Act. It will require Apple and Google to allow third-party payment methods in their app stores in South Korea, and it...
Thursday November 11, 2021 1:39 am PST by
Sami FathiEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney will appear next week at a conference in South Korea to discuss the fairness of mobile app platforms and ecosystems amid his company's ongoing tension with Apple, according to a press release.
Sweeney will be joined by other members and representatives of the "Coalition for App Fairness," a group of developers and companies lobbying against Apple's...
South Korea today passed a bill that bans Apple and Google from requiring developers to use their own respective in-app purchasing systems, allowing developers to charge users using third-party payment methods, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill was originally supposed to be voted on yesterday, however, more urgent matters presented to South Korea's National Assembly meant the bill...
Apple is not doing enough to comply with South Korean legislation that forbids app store operators from forcing developers to use their payment systems, according to lawmaker Jo Seoung-lae, Reuters reports.
Via an amendment to the Telecommunication Business Act, South Korea is the first country endeavouring to stop developers from being forced to use a single payment system offered by app...
Apple today announced further changes to its App Store rules for dating apps in the Netherlands in an attempt to comply with requirements put in place by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).
Apple says that after "productive conversations" with the ACM, it is making the following updates:- Developers of dating apps in the Netherlands can use the StoreKit External Purchase...
Popular Stories
Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying...
The standard 41mm and 45mm models of the Apple Watch Series 8 will feature the same design as the Apple Watch Series 7, according to Twitter user @ShrimpApplePro, who was first to reveal that iPhone 14 Pro models would feature a new pill-and-hole display.
Titanium will not be an option for the standard Apple Watch Series 8 models either, according to @ShrimpApplePro, but Bloomberg's Mark...
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are rumored to be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color. Most expectations about the iPhone 14 lineup's color options come from an unverified post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this year.
Overall, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro's selection of color options could look fairly similar to those of the ...
With the fifth beta of iOS 16, Apple has updated the battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the specific battery percentage rather than just a visual representation of battery level. The new battery indicator is available on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12/13 mini. It is also available on the iPhone X and the iPhone XS. Battery percent...
The camera bump on the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to be the largest rear lens housing Apple has ever installed on its flagship smartphones, and a new photo offers a rare glimpse at just how prominent it is compared to Apple's predecessor device.
iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy (left) vs iPhone 13 Pro Max All iPhone 14 models are expected to see upgrades to the Ultra Wide camera on the...
A new rumor claims that the next-generation 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro will feature a new four-pin Smart Connector, an update from the current three-pin connector in the iPad Pro.
The rumor from Mac Otakara, citing "reliable sources," says that the next iPad Pro, expected to debut possibly as soon as this fall, will feature a new Smart Connector that has four-pins rather than three. The...
Top Rated Comments
“But we pay a yearly developer fee”
That fee is like buying a Sam’s Club or Costco Membership. All it does it get you in the door. You can’t just walk through those stores fill up your carts and walk out with everything for free. You still have to pay for the products/services rendered.
Apple has a right to do business the way they want within the guidelines of the law.
“Oh but Apple wouldn’t be anything with out the developer”
Yeah, but those developers wouldn’t be anything with out the system Apple created and paid for. The street goes both ways, but someone had to pay for it. Apple has a right, just like any other business, to turn a profit.
Is there room for improvement? Yes.
If you don’t like something, don’t support it.
Do you seriously believe creating and maintaining the developer tools, the OSes, the App Store, app review, hosting, and so on is "nothing"?
Elizabeth Warren, is that you?
LOL developers wouldn’t be anything without Apple. LOL² that was a good one!
You’re talking about it as if Apple invented the software development industry. ?
I would rather say Apple wouldn’t be anything without the developers, because most of their crap are built on stuff which existed already, from core libraries to kernels to drivers and core development tools parts and CPU architecture(ARM).
Even their crapy anticompetitive AppStore runs on Java.
Apple is a good puzzler, that’s it.
And since Steve Jobs passed away, they released just crap.
Just as inconvenient as Apples „Right to repair“ process.
Sounds nice on paper but