Apple and Google face new UK rules that could make apps cheaper

Apple and Google could soon have to let UK app developers send users to cheaper payment options outside their app stores, under rules the competition regulator proposed today to drive down commissions that run as high as 30%.

The Competition and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on new conduct requirements for both firms under the UK’s digital markets regime.

The headline change would scrap restrictions that stop developers “steering” customers to off-platform ways to pay, and the regulator expects the resulting savings to reach consumers or be reinvested by developers.

What “steering” means for app prices

Steering is the ability for a developer to tell its customers about cheaper options outside the app store.

It is currently banned by Apple and restricted by Google in the UK, which forces developers through the platforms’ own billing and the commissions attached to it.

• Lifting the restriction would let developers bypass those mandatory fees.
• The CMA says any fee Apple and Google charge for steering must be set by an evidence-led framework.
• The regulator expects steering fees to come in below current app store charges, with the difference passed to UK customers or ploughed back into developers’ businesses.

“We think it is important to give both app developers and users more choice about how they communicate and how they transact, said Will Hayter, the CMA’s Executive Director for Digital Markets.

“We see this as the best way to introduce some competitive pressure in a vital part of the mobile ecosystem that is otherwise sorely lacking such pressure.”

iPhone contactless could open up to fintech rivals

The CMA is separately designing a requirement that would force Apple to open up the iPhone’s near-field communication (NFC) chip, the hardware behind contactless payments, to outside developers. Access is currently locked to Apple Pay.

Opening it would let UK fintechs and banks run card payments and digital wallets directly inside their own iOS apps. The regulator said it could also support newer payment methods including account-to-account transfers, digital currency and stablecoins, plus non-payment uses such as digital ID and car keys.

The CMA is asking developers for views on two points: the technical method for providing NFC access, and the price Apple can charge for it.

Where the current regime stands

The announcement marks 18 months of the UK’s digital markets regime.

The CMA designated Apple and Google with “strategic market status” in October 2025, a five-year label that reflects their grip on a market where almost every UK phone runs on one of the two platforms.

• The regulator has concluded three strategic market status investigations and launched a fourth, into Microsoft’s business software.
• It has already imposed three conduct requirements on Google search.
• Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, non-compliance can draw fines of up to 10% of global turnover.

Hayter signalled the CMA would act where the market fails consumers.

Google moves first

Google got ahead of the consultation, and on 24 June it announced new global Play Store terms (live in the UK from today) that allow developers to steer users off-platform to complete transactions, subject to restrictions, alongside changes to the fees it charges.

The CMA said it will assess the impact of those changes on users and businesses in the next phase of its work.

The regulator must consult before it can impose any conduct requirement. Responses on the steering proposals are due by 5pm on 28 July 2026, and views on the NFC plan by 5pm on 21 July 2026, with a decision expected later this year. App store terms are under similar scrutiny in the EU, US and Japan.

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