Apple to allow an alternative payment method in its South Korean App Store

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What you need to know

  • Apple has told South Korean authorities that it will offer an alternative App Store payment system.
  • Apple's second payment system will include a cut lower than the 30% it currently charges.
  • No details on the size of Apple's cut or a timeframe for the new system's rollout were given.

Apple has told South Korean authorities that it will provide an alternative payment system for App Store developers as part of local law compliance. Apple stopped short of saying when the new system will be available in documentation provided to the Korea Communications Commission.

According to a report by The Korea Herald, the plans include a surcharge of lower than the current 30% cut Apple takes from App Store transactions. There's no word on exactly what the new cut will be or how it will work, however.

Apple said it plans to provide an alternative payment system at a reduced service charge compared with the current 30 percent charge, as the tech giant turned in its compliance plans to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).

"We look forward to working with the KCC and our developer community on a solution that benefits our Korean users," Apple said in a statement to local news, going on to say that it "has a great deal of respect for Korea's laws and a strong history of collaboration with the country's talented app developers. Our work will always be guided by keeping the App Store a safe and trusted place for our users to download the apps they love."

The KCC had previously told Apple that it would face a fine if it continued to prevent third-party payment options from being offered via the App Store.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.