Apple gets to charge 5-10x market rates for credit card processing inside all iOS apps, which is a big and captive market. Normal is 2-3% and they charge 15-30%.
The 15-30% isn’t for credit card processing. In countries where Apple has allowed external payments, they’ve broken out the cost for payment processing to 3%.
If you’re talking about standard rates, 30% is standard in most online stores like Steam, Google Play, PSN etc… None of them purport that the 30% is solely for payment processing.
Objectivism isn't correct, here. You are comparing a captive audience with zero internal competition to three competing platforms, all that set their pricing in accordance with their competition. Apple has no competitive pressure, therefore comparing their pricing to competing stores is rationally nonsense.
The rates on PSN, Steam and Google Play Store are "standard" because they have competitors that hold that price accountable. Apple does not. If you cannot see the anticompetitive harm there then I don't know what to say to you besides "better prepare your 401k for the worst".
If the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store have the same fee structure, and your argument is that Google got their through competitive pricing… how can you claim Apple is taking advantage of their position when there is no price gouging going on when compared to other platforms that are offering the exact same service on another platform?
No App Store runs at 3% transacgoon fee - that’s the credit card interchange fee. Steam is 30% (with limited exceptions for review samples and humble bundle and other limited off-platform transactions). Microsoft store and PlayStation store are 30%. google play store is 30%.
So no: apple’s fees are competitive. Actually the 15% tier is below-market - and larger players can negotiate better rates.
Out of all the complaints you can level against apple - non-competitive transaction fees aren’t one of them, 30% is the going rate for that.
