UK regulator proposes more app payment choice, lower Apple and Google fees

Britain’s competition watchdog launched consultations on Tuesday that would let app developers steer users to alternative payment options outside Apple and Google’s app stores. The Competition and Markets Authority proposed that any charge Apple or Google impose for allowing that steering would have to be fair, reasonable and below current app-store commissions, with savings either passed through to consumers or reinvested in developers’ businesses.

On 23 January 2025, the CMA opened investigations into Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The agency later designated both companies as having strategic market status on 22 October 2025. The label lasts five years. The CMA says almost all adults in the UK have a mobile device and almost all of those devices run on Apple’s or Google’s platform.

In the UK in 2024, the CMA estimated that Apple’s App Store had roughly 1 million to 2 million native apps, while Google’s Play Store had about 2 million to 3 million. The CMA also estimated that 20 million to 30 million App Store users downloaded a native app each month, while Play Store users in the UK downloaded a native app about 2 million to 3 million times each day. The CMA launched the steering consultations on 30 June 2026, and responses are due by 28 July 2026. Apple’s notice gives a deadline of 11:59pm, while the CMA’s consultation notice says 5pm.

New Play Store terms introduced in June 2026 allow developers to steer users outside the platform. Apple has pushed back, warning that off-platform payments could invite scams, bait-and-switch tactics and the circumvention of parental controls.

The CMA is also keeping open the possibility of forcing Apple to open access to its near-field communication technology, which powers contactless payments. That could allow developers to build payment tools directly into iPhone apps and create alternatives to Apple Wallet. Such access could also support account-to-account payments, digital currencies, stablecoins, digital ID and even car keys.