App Store Payments: India Investigates Apple’s Practices

The Competition Commission of India ends the year by opening an investigation into the App Store and more specifically Apple’s payment practices. This survey is in addition to those of other countries and regions of the world.

An investigation in India targeting Apple and its App Store

According to TechCrunch, India’s Competition Commission takes a look at the App Store, focusing on why app developers should use a proprietary payment system. Indeed, Apple requires developers who want to make transactions to use its payment system. This involves a commission of 15% or 30%. That’s 15% for developers who have less than a million dollars in revenue per year. The 30% are for those with higher incomes.

The antitrust agency ordered the chief executive to complete the investigation within 60 days, while noting that the mandatory use of Apple’s payment system for in-app purchases “Restricts the choice available to application developers to select the payment processing system of their choice”. And to add: “At this stage, it appears that the absence of competitive constraints in the distribution of mobile applications is likely to affect the conditions under which Apple provides access to its App Store to application developers”.

The investigation follows a complaint from Together We Fight Society, an Indian non-profit organization. The group said Apple’s move, which prevents app developers from using a third-party payment system or their own payment system, is a significant blow to the revenue it generates. Apple asked the Indian Commission to dismiss the case as soon as possible, believing that Together We Fight Society is too modest a player in India.