South Korea’s lawsuit finally convinced Apple to allow alternative payment system

Earlier, South Korea passed a written bill to protect major platform owners such as Google and Apple from banning application engineers from the underlying payment systems, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill was expected to be signed into law by President Moon Jae-in, whose party backed the legislation.

And now, Apple will allow alternative payment systems in South Korea in accordance with a new local law that prevents app store operators from forcing payment systems into their own app, the country’s telecommunications regulator.

The action comes after a new law came into force in the country in September last year, forcing app store operators such as Google and Apple to forcibly implement payment systems on developers.

In November, Google pledged to offer an alternative payment system with a slightly lower service fee as a clear step towards complying with the country’s new law on its app store in South Korea.

As the tech giant has approached the Korean Communications Commission (KCC) over its approval plans, Apple said it plans to offer an alternative payment system with a service fee lower than the current 30 percent fee.

The company did not specify when the policy would take effect or when the service charges would take effect but said it planned to discuss further details with KCC. KCC has previously announced that app store operators could face fines for forcing developers to use payment systems within their own app.

South Korea was the first country to impose such restrictions on the global giant’s in-app billing policies, which have come under rapid scrutiny around the world.