🍏 Apple Tax is Over

👋 Hey — Egemen here, with major news today that changes the mobile app game.

The mobile app space in the US just fundamentally changed as the US court recently ruled publishers can freely link to off-store payments.

Join Paddle and Nathan Hudson, CEO of Perceptycs as they dive into what that actually means in practice for your app and what to do next.

Register now

According to an email sent to developers on May 1, 2025, the key changes include:

• Apps in the US can now include buttons, external links, or other calls to action for web payments.

• No fee entitlement is required for these external links. 

• Apple must remove all UX friction and allow unfettered access to external payment links.

• Developers are now free to communicate with users about outside payment options.

This is a new era of app monetization as Paddle covers.

👉 More freedom, more responsibilities

More revenue for product development and performance marketing to accelerate growth – Yes, you’re gaining more freedom but that comes with responsibilities. 

Paddle handles all these complexities like the App Store does, but for web payments.

The App Store handles several critical functions that many in the app space take for granted and there needs to be an adequate replacement.

• Global payments: Supporting different payment methods worldwide.

• Fraud prevention: Protection against chargebacks and payment fraud.

• Subscription management: Handling trial periods, renewals, and cancellations

• Global tax compliance: Managing international tax obligations and complexity. 

Moving to web payments without addressing these backend complexities could create serious operational and legal issues.

That is why, you should never settle for less, when you can have a MoR: Merchant-of-Record.

The truth about the App Store Ruling:

There’s no getting around it, this changes a lot.

Do MoR, or DIY trying

Paddle is the Merchant of Record (MoR) for SaaS, app and AI companies who want to grow faster globally without the risk and pain and cost and hassle of building your own payment stack.

• Compliance? Handled ✅

• New country? Done ✅

• Local pricing? One click ✅

• Payment methods? Tick ✅

With all of these in mind, founders and developers face a choice:

• build complex payment infrastructure themselves, or

• partner with specialists who can handle the backend complexities while they focus on creating exceptional app experiences.

If you ask me, the choice is simple.

Instead of building out your own global payments infrastructure and managing tax compliance across the world, Paddle handles everything: From payments management and sales tax to handling refunds, disputes, and dealing with fraud protection.

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