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I don't believe this is the result of an ideological belief. This is standard Apple app store policy that if you allow any sort of in-app purchases, they have t

I don't believe this is the result of an ideological belief. This is standard Apple app store policy that if you allow any sort of in-app purchases, they have to go through Apple.

fat0wl 13y ago
well it's somewhat ideological, no? or do they allow Bitcoin payments for in-app purchases if you go through them? My feeling has been that the major companies don't want to acknowledge Bitcoin yet and are waiting a bit to see how things play out. Not supporting it for a while won't hurt them too much financially. They lose some transaction fees but don't have to support a new payment type.
MartinMcGirk 13y ago
This is exactly right. Ever since they brought in in-app purchases to the app store they have required a 30% cut of everything. This isn't a dig at bitcoin specifically. My local bus service sells bus tickets through an iOS app and they have to give up 30% of the sale to Apple. Even major retailers like Amazon and B&N ended up removing in app purchases back in 2011 [1] to avoid Apple taking 30% of their business. They are not even allowed to link to their own web stores from their apps. Frankly I'm just amazed Gliph ever got that functionality in there in the first place. [1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20082925-93/apple-forces-amazon-to-alter-kindle-app/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20082925-93/apple-forces-am...
- yeldarb 13y ago
  This doesn't sound right. The in-app purchase rule only applies to virtual goods. A bus ticket, much like a plane ticket, should not fall under this rule. And, in fact, you are prohibited from selling real-world items via in-app purchase. What you're buying isn't the virtual ticket. It's the bus ride.
  - simonh 13y ago
    Indeed. You can buy good on Amazon's iOS app to be delivered to your door without Apple getting a penny, but buying Kindle ebooks in your Kindle app is a different story. The difference is that in the Kindle case you're buying content for use in your app.
crazygringo 13y ago
But my Citibank app allows me to pay bills, transfer money between accounts, and deposit checks. LevelUp allows me to pay for things using credit cards linked to the app. So it's pretty clear that Apple does allow financial transactions to happen in apps, without taking a cut or anything. What's unclear is why they would allow this for Citibank, LevelUp, etc., but not for bitcoin.
- sigzero 13y ago
  The issue is the LEGALITY of the currency.
  - MatmaRex 13y ago
    Bitcoin was not illegal last time I checked.
    - _Simon 13y ago
      The legality of the currency isn't confirmed either.
      - kybernetyk 13y ago
        Since when do you have to confirm that something is legal? Isn't the predominant law system on this planet: It's allowed unless explicitly forbidden?
      - waterlesscloud 13y ago
        Where was the legality of Candy Crush confirmed?
      - yourad_io 13y ago
        The legality of that underscore in your username hasn't been explicitly confirmed either, and I say it looks too much like a weapon - so as far as I am concerned, you are a mass transporter of weapons. Which is nonsense, of course. Things are legal unless explicitly made illegal.
freyrs3 13y ago
Unless you pay for the special privilege by making deals with Apple behind closed doors, as most of the banking apps do. The terms of service hardly apply evenly to all applications.

I don't believe this is the result of an ideological belief. This is standard Apple app store policy that if you allow any sort of in-app purchases, they have to go through Apple.

fat0wl 13y ago

well it's somewhat ideological, no? or do they allow Bitcoin payments for in-app purchases if you go through them? My feeling has been that the major companies don't want to acknowledge Bitcoin yet and are waiting a bit to see how things play out. Not supporting it for a while won't hurt them too much financially. They lose some transaction fees but don't have to support a new payment type.

MartinMcGirk 13y ago

This is exactly right. Ever since they brought in in-app purchases to the app store they have required a 30% cut of everything. This isn't a dig at bitcoin specifically. My local bus service sells bus tickets through an iOS app and they have to give up 30% of the sale to Apple. Even major retailers like Amazon and B&N ended up removing in app purchases back in 2011 [1] to avoid Apple taking 30% of their business. They are not even allowed to link to their own web stores from their apps. Frankly I'm just amazed Gliph ever got that functionality in there in the first place. [1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20082925-93/apple-forces-amazon-to-alter-kindle-app/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20082925-93/apple-forces-am...

yeldarb 13y ago
This doesn't sound right. The in-app purchase rule only applies to virtual goods. A bus ticket, much like a plane ticket, should not fall under this rule. And, in fact, you are prohibited from selling real-world items via in-app purchase. What you're buying isn't the virtual ticket. It's the bus ride.
- simonh 13y ago
  Indeed. You can buy good on Amazon's iOS app to be delivered to your door without Apple getting a penny, but buying Kindle ebooks in your Kindle app is a different story. The difference is that in the Kindle case you're buying content for use in your app.

crazygringo 13y ago

But my Citibank app allows me to pay bills, transfer money between accounts, and deposit checks. LevelUp allows me to pay for things using credit cards linked to the app. So it's pretty clear that Apple does allow financial transactions to happen in apps, without taking a cut or anything. What's unclear is why they would allow this for Citibank, LevelUp, etc., but not for bitcoin.

sigzero 13y ago
The issue is the LEGALITY of the currency.
- MatmaRex 13y ago
  Bitcoin was not illegal last time I checked.
  - _Simon 13y ago
    The legality of the currency isn't confirmed either.
    - kybernetyk 13y ago
      Since when do you have to confirm that something is legal? Isn't the predominant law system on this planet: It's allowed unless explicitly forbidden?
    - waterlesscloud 13y ago
      Where was the legality of Candy Crush confirmed?
    - yourad_io 13y ago
      The legality of that underscore in your username hasn't been explicitly confirmed either, and I say it looks too much like a weapon - so as far as I am concerned, you are a mass transporter of weapons. Which is nonsense, of course. Things are legal unless explicitly made illegal.

freyrs3 13y ago

Unless you pay for the special privilege by making deals with Apple behind closed doors, as most of the banking apps do. The terms of service hardly apply evenly to all applications.