The UK Competition and Markets Authority is moving toward new rules for Apple and Google that would loosen their control over how app developers take payments and, in Apple’s case, how iPhone apps use contactless hardware.
The regulator said on 30 June that it is consulting on conduct requirements under the UK’s digital markets competition regime. The main proposal would let UK developers tell customers about ways to pay outside Apple’s App Store and Google Play, a practice usually called steering.
According to the CMA, Apple currently bans steering in the UK, while Google restricts it. Removing those limits would let developers send users to off-platform payment routes and avoid mandatory platform fees. That is the practical fight: who gets to own the payment path after a developer has already found the customer.
The CMA is not proposing that Apple and Google get nothing. It said any steering fees charged by the companies should be fair and reasonable, and assessed through an evidence-led framework. The regulator said it would expect those fees to sit below current app store charges, with any savings passed to UK customers or reinvested by developers.
Will Hayter, the CMA’s executive director for digital markets, is due to tell the Informa Connect CompLaw conference that the proposed rules are intended to give developers and users more choice over how they communicate and pay. On steering fees, Hayter will say that Apple and Google may be compensated for services they provide, but that fees must be justified with reference to cost and value.
Apple’s NFC lock is also in view
The CMA is also considering a requirement that would give developers access to near field communication, or NFC, functionality on iOS. NFC is the short-range wireless technology used when phones make contactless payments or exchange data at close range.
The regulator said businesses had raised concerns that Apple’s fees and terms blocked access to NFC. Opening that access could let UK fintechs and other developers support contactless transactions from inside their own iPhone apps, including card payments through digital wallets.
The CMA said the same access could support account-to-account payments, digital currency, stablecoin-related payment methods, and non-financial uses such as digital ID and car keys. Those are potential uses identified by the regulator, not deployed products guaranteed by the consultation.
For the NFC proposal, the CMA is asking developers for views on two points: how access should technically be provided, and what price should be charged for it. Responses on the NFC issue are due by 5pm on 21 July 2026.
Google’s Play Store changes are part of the file
The CMA said Google announced new global Play Store terms on 24 June, due to take effect in the UK on 30 June. Those changes include allowing developers to steer users outside Google Play to complete transactions, subject to restrictions. Google has also changed some developer fees, including fees for developers using steering.
The regulator said it will assess the likely effect of Google’s changes on users and businesses during the next phase of its mobile platforms work.
The CMA must consult before imposing a conduct requirement under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. Responses to the steering consultation are due by 5pm on 28 July 2026, with a decision expected later this year.
The announcement comes 18 months after the UK digital markets regime began. The CMA said it has completed three strategic market status investigations, opened a fourth into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, imposed three conduct requirements for Google Search, and secured commitments from Apple and Google on mobile issues including app distribution and requests for interoperable access to functionality.
This story draws on original reporting from GOV.UK.
