IAP, Braintree, Tribe: Looking for the right tool

App & System Services StoreKit
Bilkix OP
Created Mar ’16
Replies 7
Boosts 0
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Hi,


I'm developing an application and I'm looking which tool should I use for adding priced features in it.


Before answering, there are some things to take in account, that's what blocking me:

1 - We have a web application which already manage purchases for the web, and we would prefer going through our API to manage purchases as it's already here.

2 - We have 2 differents type for purchasable items : a subscription (for now we have 3 months or 12 months subscription, but we're working on making only one kind of subscription) and a virtual currency in a virtual wallet that the user can fill as he wants.

3 - Last but not the less, when a user subscribes or add currencies to his virtual wallet, those items are also available on the web application.


I've troubles choosing IAP or Braintree/Tribe, because it's seems to me that some Apple's guidelines are contradicting each others in my situation :


"11.1

Apps that unlock or enable additional features or functionality with mechanisms other than the App Store will be rejected

11.2

Apps utilizing a system other than the In-App Purchase API (IAP) to purchase content, functionality, or services in an App will be rejected"

Those first rules are saying that I just cannot use any third-party API to add priced content in my application.


"11.3

Apps using IAP to purchase physical goods or goods and services used outside of the App will be rejected"

In my case, I feel like the subscription and our virtual currency are concidered "goods and services" used outside of the app, because the user can use it on our web application


"11.4

Apps that use IAP to purchase credits or other currencies must consume those credits within the App"

Here, Apple seems to tell you "Ok, go for the virtual currency, BUT we prevent you from using it outside of your iOS application"


So what should we do ? Can we add our purchases inside of our application, or are we forced to say to the user for buying them on our web application ? And if we can add them in our application, does it go to the In-App purchase or to the "third party payment API" because it's used on our web app too ?


Thank you in advance for your help

Bilkix

Replies  7
Boosts  0
Views  1.1k
Participants  2
PBK OP
Mar ’16

11.3 refers to real world goods and services so it does not apply. You must use IAP (because of 11.1 and 11-2) and if you consume the currency outside the iOS environment then you would be violating 11.4.

0
Bilkix OP
Mar ’16

But the 11.3 says word for word "physical goods or goods and services used outside of the app", which tends to pretend that this refer to physical goods or [non-physical] goods and services, no ?


Talking about the 11.4, it means that if I implement the capability for the user to buy virtual currency in my app, we would have two different types of currency like "web-currency" and "iOS-currency" ?

0
PBK OP
Mar ’16

Goods and services used outside the app includes memory storage, taxi service and VOIP. Yes? You may need to sell 2 types of currencies; one for use only in the app and a second for use only outside the app.

0
Bilkix OP
Mar ’16

Hm...ok, thank you. But it's pretty awful for the currency to restric its usage inside the application :/ Do you know why Apple did that ? I really don't get why


EDIT :

I just got a thought: If I use a third-party system to purchase the currency, it won't get in violation of 11.4, because it restrict the use only for the IAP system. And it's not written that Apple will reject the application if the user can buy currency using a third-party system.

What do you think ?


EDIT 2 :

I'm looking for other cross-platform apps that have virtual currency inside their application. And I saw that Candy Crush do have a virtual currency (Gold bars) that you can buy inside the iOS application and they are populated on their server so that you can also spend them on the website. So I have another thought: in the Apple's point of view, is the virtual currency only describes things like Bitcoins (in this case Golds are not concidered as virtual currency and I think it would resolve my problem) or Golds are also concidered as a virtual currency (in which case, Candy Crush would violate the Apple's guidelines) ?

0
PBK OP
Mar ’16

You can't use currency purchased outside the app to unlock code or provide functionality or services in your app because of 11.1 and 11.2. If you try to do that you stand a high chance of having the app rejected. You can't allow a user to use IAP currency on a different platform as you noted. However, you stand a smaller chance of being rejected for violating that guideline because few users will do that (most users restrict their use to only one device) and App Review may overlook that aspect of your app.

0
Bilkix OP
Mar ’16

Maybe there is something I don't understand about the terms "virtual currency". We are not planning to add something like Bitcoins in our applications, but something that looks more like Gold Coins like in Candy Crush I think. Is that different ? Every time I check for any informations about "virtual currency", I land in posts and articles talking about BitCoins or any "legal" virtual money, wich is not our case.


So maybe the Gold system in Candy Crush is concidered like a consumable, no ?

0
PBK OP
Mar ’16

Gold coins or tokens are a consumable virtual currency. A currency is anything that can be easily traded for something else.

0
IAP, Braintree, Tribe: Looking for the right tool
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