Mobile applications that deal with financial transactions, subscriptions, or digital goods must carefully navigate app store policies to minimize commission fees. Apple and Google charge fees on in-app digital purchases, but not on physical services or financial transactions like remittances.

Let's break down app store fees when monetizing your app.

Apple App Store Fees

  1. Physical Goods & Services: No Commission – Apple does not charge any commission on transactions for physical goods or services, such as caregiving, e-commerce, or ride-hailing.

  2. Digital Goods & Services
    💰 Commission Fees:

    1. 30% on in-app purchases and subscriptions.
    2. 15% after one year of subscription renewal or for businesses enrolled in Apple’s Small Business Program (for businesses earning less than $1 million annually).

Payment Processing:
Apple requires all in-app purchases of digital content (subscriptions, virtual goods) to go through Apple’s in-app payment system, deducting the commission before you receive the funds.

Google Play Store Fees

  1. Physical Goods & Services: No Commission – Google does not charge a fee for physical services like Apple.

  2. Digital Goods & Services
    💰 Commission Fees:

    1. 15% on the first $1 million of annual revenue.
    2. 30% on revenue exceeding $1 million per year.
    3. 15% on subscriptions after the first year.

Payment Processing:
Google requires digital purchases to go through its payment system unless the app qualifies for User Choice Billing, which allows alternative payment methods at reduced fees.

Google generally offers a lower fee for the first $1 million in annual revenue compared to Apple.

App Store Rules for Financial Transactions
For cross-border payment apps, money transfers, and financial services, Apple and Google do not take a cut as they consider these physical services. This means:

  1. You can use any payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, Wise, etc.).
  2. Apple & Google do not require in-app purchases for these transactions.
  3. Users can enter card details or pay externally without app store restrictions.

Examples

  1. Money transfer apps (Wise, PayPal, Western Union, Revolut).
  2. Wallet apps (deposit/withdraw funds).
  3. Bill payment services.

What You Cannot Do

  1. Charge a fee via in-app purchases for premium financial features (e.g., “Pay $9.99/month for faster transfers”).
  2. Use in-app purchases for investment services or financial subscriptions (these must be external).

I am studying a few of the applications on how they are bypassing the in-app purchase. Once I get base on this I'll post another article on this.

You can reference the official app store guidelines directly by adding links to Apple’s and Google’s developer documentation. For example, you can include:

Apple App Store Guidelines: Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines

Google Play Store Policy: Google Play’s Payments Policy