First country lifts the obligation to pay

It’s great news for app users, Apple and Google are likely to grind their teeth a lot: In South Korea, smartphone owners from the respective manufacturers will soon be able to freely choose the payment methods for apps. The case will serve as a role model worldwide.

South Korea forces App Store and Play Store to open

The lucrative business model of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store is in jeopardy. South Korea became the first country in the world to enact a law on Tuesday that bans large technology companies from operating payment systems for their stores exclude other providers (Source: The Wall Street Journal).

In Samsung’s home country, Google and Apple have to use the Payment for apps and in-app purchases via other payment service providers directly in the Play Store and App Store. That will cost companies gigantic amounts. Because up to now it was the same as in the rest of the world: Around 30 percent of all payments go to the store operator.

This step will hit Google much harder than Apple. Because Samsung’s smartphones with the Play Store dominate in South Korea, Google also makes significantly more sales there – and now has more to lose.

In the USA it looks different. There are attempts in several proceedings – including by game developer Epic – to ban Apple’s payment practices. Last one reached a little success, but the big one There has not yet been a breakthrough in other countries.

So far you can only get them via the App Store or Play Store – you can find apps that belong on every mobile phone in the Video:

Apple and Google restricted: global imitators?

South Korea’s decision could, however Become a role model for others. If the obligation to pay generally falls, advantages for the app users are also expected. The industry is currently assuming that the developers will make cheaper offers without a store commission.

Thanks to the competition that will hopefully set in, the price pressure on Google and Apple could also increase. The corporations usually counter this with security concerns. How the decision will be made elsewhere – and thus also in Germany – is still unclear. How things will continue in South Korea will, however, be closely monitored.