The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on forcing Apple and Google to allow developers to steer their customers away from the tech giants’ platforms for payment.

Currently this is not permitted by Apple and restricted by Google in the UK, which means developers end up paying mandatory fees set by the platforms.

The proposed requirements would remove these restrictions and allow UK app developers to steer their customers away from Apple and Google’s platforms for payment.

The CMA’s consultation includes principles to ensure that the fees Apple and Google charge for steering are fair and reasonable. Using an evidence-based framework, the CMA would expect steering fees to be lower than current app store charges, with savings passed onto UK customers or invested back into the developers’ businesses to support future innovation.

Will Hayter, Executive Director for Digital Markets, said:

"We are consulting today on draft conduct requirements to support so-called ‘steering’, or the ability for app developers to engage directly with their users outside Apple and Google’s app stores.

"We think it is important to give both app developers and users more choice about how they communicate and how they transact. This is not only because choice is inherently valuable but also because we see this as the best way to introduce some competitive pressure in a vital part of the mobile ecosystem that is otherwise sorely lacking such pressure.

"While it is only fair for Apple and Google to be compensated for the services they provide, any fees they charge must be justified through a robust, evidence-led framework involving due reference to both cost and value.