REGULATION | UK Watchdog Pushes Apple, Google to Allow Alternative Payment Methods in App Stores

Britain’s competition regulator has proposed allowing app developers to direct users to alternative payment methods outside Apple and Google’s app stores in its latest effort to boost competition and lower costs for developers and consumers.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on the proposals would remove restrictions that currently prevent UK developers from steering users to off-platform payment options. Apple prohibits such practices, while Google places restrictions on them.

Under the proposals, any fees Apple and Google charge developers for directing users to external payment options would have to be fair, reasonable, and lower than existing app store commissions. The regulator said any savings should either be passed on to consumers or reinvested in innovation.

“While it is only fair for Apple and Google to be compensated for the services they provide, any fees they charge must be justified through a robust, evidence-led framework,” Will Hayter, the CMA’s Executive Director for Digital Markets, said in prepared remarks.

The regulator is also considering requiring Apple to provide third-party access to its near-field communication (NFC) technology potentially allowing competing payment providers to offer digital wallets and account-to-account payment services on iPhones.

The proposals form part of the UK’s Digital Markets regime which grants the CMA greater powers over firms designated as having “strategic market status.” Apple and Google received that designation in 2025, allowing the regulator to impose targeted measures aimed at increasing competition across mobile platforms.

Google said it had already introduced changes to Play Store policies that allow developers greater flexibility in directing users to alternative payment methods. Apple argued that opening its ecosystem could expose users to greater risks of fraud and undermine privacy and security protections.

The UK joins regulators in the European Union, the United States, and Japan in increasing scrutiny of the app store practices of the two technology companies particularly around payment systems and developer commissions.

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