7 Important Reasons Why Apple’s App Store Payment System Is Actually Good for Consumers

There’s been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about the 30 percent cut that Apple takes from developers on the App Store. Whether it’s from purchasing apps outright, subscribing to in-app services, or buying things like in-game currency, Apple gets $0.30 of every dollar that you spend through the App Store, with the rest of it going to the developer.

Apple, of course, claims that this is the cost of running the App Store, and has repeatedly dug its heels in when developers have tried to get around it in various ways since Apple’s App Store Guidelines also require that almost all developers use Apple’s payment systems exclusively when it comes to subscriptions or digital content — apps are not allowed to offer alternative purchasing methods within the apps themselves, and while multi-platform services like Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube are naturally allowed to offer their goods and services outside of their iOS apps, they’re not allowed to point that out to users within the iOS apps themselves.

In reality, there are actually a number of advantages for end-users when it comes to using Apple’s in-app payment system. Whether this justifies Apple’s very strict approach of forcing developers to use the App Store exclusively is still very much open for discussion, as is the question of whether it actually warrants Apple’s 30 percent take, but it’s also important to understand that the commission that Apple charges on App Store payments does actually come with some tangible benefits. Read on for 7 reasons why Apple’s in-app payment system may actually be a good thing.