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should apple be allowed to make a (what seems like substantial) profit off that lock-in? by comparison payment processors like stripe can offer as a baseline 2.

by dastbe 5y ago

should apple be allowed to make a (what seems like substantial) profit off that lock-in? by comparison payment processors like stripe can offer as a baseline 2.9% and 30 cents. if you predict that the average uber is 10 dollars (which is probably low these days) that's 6% if you were able to process with stripe and they're still turning a profit. If you want to make the argument that because of the substantial number of free apps that apple needs to subsidize the costs of review etc. then I'm 100% sure that these companies would rather pay for the underlying resources than get raked over by this pricing scheme.

HWR_14 5y ago
You do understand that Uber can use Stripe (or whoever else) to process the rides? It's just the in-app premium monthly membership fee we're discussing? Apple's payments are extremely pro-user friendly. Do I wish they charged less? Yes. But if it's open to competition no one will use Apple payments even if they are the cheapest, because they are tilted more in the user's favor than other payment methods (subscription cancellation, etc.)
- dastbe 5y ago
  > It's just the in-app premium monthly membership fee we're discussing? Sure, but even then Stripe charges half a percent extra to handle subscriptions. Given Uber One is 10$, my original assessment still stands that Apple wants ~4x what equivalent processors wants on their marketplace. > But if it's open to competition no one will use Apple payments even if they are the cheapest You're assuming that all subscription businesses would prefer to engage unethically with their customers. Many businesses are much more interested in the customer acquisition funnel and building up trust, and if Apple payments eliminates dropoff in subscribers because their payment credentials are already there or it just has strong user trust then many companies will prefer it even if they aren't the cheapest (but competitive). And if Apple wants to enforce standard such that even the unethical companies have to play in their garden, then they need to be pegged at a fair and reasonable cost of services delivered which we can ascertain from everybody else who is doing this.
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    > You're assuming that all subscription businesses would prefer to engage unethically with their customers. I'm assuming some do. Apple protects me from those companies. I also think most people aren't going to steal from me, but I still lock my door. Meanwhile, you have far more faith than I do that businesses will pay a fairly high additional cost (say 4x) to signal that cancelling is trustworthy - whether it makes sense or not. Basically, Apple currently protects me over app developers, and I want that to continue.

by dastbe 5y ago

HWR_14 5y ago

You do understand that Uber can use Stripe (or whoever else) to process the rides? It's just the in-app premium monthly membership fee we're discussing? Apple's payments are extremely pro-user friendly. Do I wish they charged less? Yes. But if it's open to competition no one will use Apple payments even if they are the cheapest, because they are tilted more in the user's favor than other payment methods (subscription cancellation, etc.)

dastbe 5y ago
> It's just the in-app premium monthly membership fee we're discussing? Sure, but even then Stripe charges half a percent extra to handle subscriptions. Given Uber One is 10$, my original assessment still stands that Apple wants ~4x what equivalent processors wants on their marketplace. > But if it's open to competition no one will use Apple payments even if they are the cheapest You're assuming that all subscription businesses would prefer to engage unethically with their customers. Many businesses are much more interested in the customer acquisition funnel and building up trust, and if Apple payments eliminates dropoff in subscribers because their payment credentials are already there or it just has strong user trust then many companies will prefer it even if they aren't the cheapest (but competitive). And if Apple wants to enforce standard such that even the unethical companies have to play in their garden, then they need to be pegged at a fair and reasonable cost of services delivered which we can ascertain from everybody else who is doing this.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  > You're assuming that all subscription businesses would prefer to engage unethically with their customers. I'm assuming some do. Apple protects me from those companies. I also think most people aren't going to steal from me, but I still lock my door. Meanwhile, you have far more faith than I do that businesses will pay a fairly high additional cost (say 4x) to signal that cancelling is trustworthy - whether it makes sense or not. Basically, Apple currently protects me over app developers, and I want that to continue.