Apple moved to open its App Store to outside billing options in the US after the country’s Supreme Court rejected its appeal in an antitrust battle challenging its policies. 

In a court filing, Apple stated the changes will involve enabling third-party apps in its marketplace to provide buttons, external links or other methods directing customers to purchasing mechanisms in addition to its own in-app billing system, which charges developers a commission of either 15 per cent or 30 per cent. 

Effectively, Apple will provide a link to an external website to process payments for purchases made within apps.

Apple, however noted it intends to retain a 12 per cent revenue share from small businesses and a 27 per cent fee from larger companies for those opting to bypass its payment system.

This particular clause sparked a backlash on X from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who described it as a “bad faith compliance plan”. 

He argued the newly introduced commission undermines the order requiring Apple to offer alternative payment options.

The Supreme Court also declined to hear Epic Games’ appeal in the latest ruling.

Epic Games filed a lawsuit in 2020 which challenged Apple’s “stranglehold on the iOS ecosystem” including its in-app purchasing mechanisms.

Apple later removed the developer’s Fortnite title from its App Store. 

In 2023, a US appeals court rejected Epic Games’ claims Apple violated antitrust laws over third-party app stores, but upheld a decision regarding alternate billing options.