7 Merchant of Record Solutions for iOS Apps (Post-Apple Ruling)
Summary
- The Epic v. Apple ruling lets iOS developers bypass Apple's 15-30% IAP commission, but shifts the burden of global tax, fraud, and chargebacks to the developer.
- A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the solution, acting as a legal reseller to handle all payment compliance, but choosing the right one is critical.
- Forcing users to a web checkout can drop conversions by 25-45%; a native SDK that feels like part of the app is essential to preserve revenue.
- Allocents offers a purpose-built SDK for iOS, enabling a 15-minute transition to direct billing while handling all MoR duties in 190+ countries.
You've built a successful iOS app. You've watched 30% of every dollar you earn disappear into Apple's IAP system for years. Then, on April 30, 2025, a U.S. federal court permanently barred Apple from enforcing its in-app purchase exclusivity in the US — the culmination of Epic Games' years-long legal battle — and suddenly, over $150 billion in annual IAP volume is up for grabs.
But here's the central dilemma every developer now faces: pay the platform commission (15% to 30%) or introduce user friction and complexity to save that fee. Because ditching Apple's IAP isn't free. Forcing users out to the web can cause a 25% to 45% drop in initial conversions. And if you go it alone, your startup assumes full responsibility for sales tax compliance, chargebacks, fraud, refunds, and direct customer billing support across 190+ countries. That's the compliance vacuum the ruling created.
This is where a Merchant of Record (MoR) becomes your most strategic hire. An MoR acts as the legal reseller of your digital product, absorbing the liability for global tax remittance, chargeback disputes, fraud prevention, and PCI compliance — so you don't have to. The right MoR for iOS doesn't just handle payments; it handles the migration from StoreKit, preserves your conversion rates, and lets you capture the revenue savings from day one.
Here are the 7 best merchant of record iOS solutions, scored on what actually matters for app developers post-ruling: SDK integration speed, StoreKit compatibility, tax coverage, chargeback liability, and pricing.
1. Allocents — Best Overall for iOS-Native Direct Billing
Allocents is the only MoR solution built from the ground up specifically for the post-Epic ruling iOS ecosystem. Born from the landmark April 2025 Epic v. Apple ruling, Allocents provides a single SDK that enables mobile app developers to offer direct billing alongside or instead of Apple's StoreKit.
SDK Integration Speed: A single SDK with a 15-minute integration, supporting Swift/SwiftUI, Kotlin, Flutter, and React Native. Compare that to piecing together RevenueCat for subscription logic, Stripe for payments, and a separate tax tool — Allocents replaces that entire multi-system setup with one drop-in.
StoreKit Compatibility: This is where Allocents truly separates itself. It automatically syncs your product catalog directly from App Store Connect, so you don't have to manually recreate your SKUs. "Switch & Save" campaigns let you target existing StoreKit subscribers with tailored offers to migrate them to direct billing. A gradual rollout feature lets you start with just 10% of your user base — with instant rollback — so you can validate impact before committing fully.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Full MoR. Allocents handles payments, tax remittance in 190+ countries, chargebacks, fraud, refunds, and customer support. You get a clean payout.
User Experience: Native-feeling "Sign Up & Save" paywalls let users choose between App Store IAP and a discounted direct billing option on the same screen. Native web checkout supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, which significantly reduces the conversion friction that plagues most web checkout redirects. Smart cancellation flows with discount and pause offers also help reduce churn.
Pricing:
- Allocents Billing (Full MoR): 5% + 50¢ per transaction
- Bring Your Own Stripe (BYOS): 0.5% of migrated revenue — for teams with existing Stripe infrastructure who want to handle their own MoR duties but use Allocents' proven iOS migration UI
Best For: iOS app developers with $500K–$20M+ ARR, mobile gaming studios managing consumables (coins, gems), and subscription apps in fitness, media, productivity, and dating.
2. Paddle — Best for Cross-Platform SaaS
Paddle is one of the most established MoR platforms in the market, with a strong track record serving SaaS and software businesses. It handles global VAT, sales tax, and compliance across a wide range of jurisdictions, and acts as the full MoR for chargebacks and fraud.
SDK Integration Speed: Paddle offers solid APIs and web checkout tools, but there is no single, purpose-built SDK for iOS migration flows. Migrating existing StoreKit subscribers requires custom developer work.
StoreKit Compatibility: No built-in StoreKit sync or IAP migration tooling — you're largely on your own for the transition.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Comprehensive. Paddle assumes full MoR liability for global tax and chargebacks.
Pricing: 5% + $0.50 per transaction.
Best For: B2C SaaS products with both a web and mobile presence that want a unified MoR across all channels.
3. Lemon Squeezy — Best for Indie Developers
Lemon Squeezy is a modern, developer-friendly MoR aimed at indie creators and small teams selling digital products. It's known for fast onboarding and a clean storefront experience.
SDK Integration Speed: Focused on web storefronts and simple checkouts. There is no dedicated mobile SDK, making iOS-specific migration flows a manual lift.
StoreKit Compatibility: Not designed for StoreKit integration or IAP subscriber migration.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Full MoR — handles global sales tax, fraud, and chargebacks out of the box.
Pricing: 5% + $0.50 per transaction.
Best For: Indie developers or early-stage teams who need a straightforward, fast way to sell digital goods and don't yet have a large StoreKit subscriber base to migrate.
4. FastSpring — Best for Established Software Companies
FastSpring is a veteran e-commerce platform for software and digital products, offering deep global commerce features including localized pricing, multiple payment methods, and robust compliance tooling.
SDK Integration Speed: Offers APIs and pop-up checkout options, but no mobile-first SDK tailored for iOS migrations.
StoreKit Compatibility: No specific features for StoreKit interaction or subscriber migration.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Full MoR with global tax compliance and payment processing.
Pricing: Ranges from 5.9% + $0.95 to 8.9% + $0.75 depending on the plan — making it one of the pricier options on this list.
Best For: Established software companies selling direct-to-consumer across multiple channels who need mature e-commerce features and don't need mobile-native migration tooling.
5. Stripe Tax — Best for Teams Who Want Full Control
It's important to be upfront: Stripe Tax is not a Merchant of Record. It is a tax calculation and reporting automation layer. If you go this route, you are the MoR — responsible for chargebacks, fraud, refunds, and ultimately remitting taxes to government authorities in every jurisdiction where you have nexus.
SDK Integration Speed: Stripe's mobile SDKs are well-documented and widely used.
StoreKit Compatibility: None out of the box. All subscription logic and IAP migration is entirely on your engineering team.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Stripe Tax calculates the tax owed, but you're still on the hook for filing and remittance. As developers have noted, this means "incredible amounts of paperwork you personally have to do each month."
Pricing: Starts at 0.5% per transaction on top of Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢ processing fee.
Best For: Larger teams with existing, complex Stripe infrastructure and in-house finance and compliance teams who prefer full control over every layer of their payment stack. This is the DIY path — and it's similar in spirit to Allocents' BYOS offering, but without the iOS migration UI.
6. RevenueCat + MoR — Best for Subscription Analytics Across Platforms
RevenueCat is the leading subscription management SDK for mobile — but it's not an MoR. It gives you a unified view of subscriber status across iOS, Android, and the web by abstracting StoreKit and Google Play Billing. To handle actual payments outside of app stores, you pair it with Stripe (or similar) and then either use Stripe Tax or another MoR for compliance.
SDK Integration Speed: RevenueCat's SDK is famously easy to integrate — but this creates a multi-vendor stack: RevenueCat for subscription logic + Stripe for payments + a tax solution. That's three systems, not one.
StoreKit Compatibility: RevenueCat's core strength is abstracting StoreKit and providing a unified backend. It doesn't migrate users away from IAP, though.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: RevenueCat itself assumes zero MoR liability. You handle all of it unless you pair it with a full MoR separately.
Pricing: RevenueCat charges approximately 1–2% of subscription revenue, on top of all your payment processing and tax costs.
Best For: Developers who prioritize cross-platform subscriber analytics and are willing to stitch together a multi-vendor payment stack and act as their own MoR.
7. Xsolla — Best for Mobile Game Studios
Xsolla is a specialized MoR built exclusively for the video game industry. It offers a full suite of tools for managing virtual goods, in-game currencies, web shops, and gaming-specific fraud prevention.
SDK Integration Speed: Provides SDKs tailored to gaming economies, including tools for virtual currency management and item storefronts.
StoreKit Compatibility: Offers web shop solutions that let gaming studios route purchases outside the App Store — but the tooling is gaming-specific, not general-purpose iOS migration flows.
Tax Coverage & MoR Liability: Full MoR service designed for the unique, high-volume, high-frequency transaction patterns of mobile gaming.
Pricing: Typically 5% standard fee plus operational fees depending on volume and services used.
Best For: Mobile game studios that need deep, gaming-economy-specific tooling: anti-fraud tuned for virtual goods, web shops for items and currencies, and a full MoR that understands the gaming transaction model.
Decision Matrix: Which MoR Is Right for Your App?
| App Type | Best-Fit MoR | Key Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile Gaming (consumables) | Allocents, Xsolla | Allocents for fast, native iOS migration; Xsolla for deep gaming-economy tooling |
| Subscription Apps (fitness, media, productivity, dating) | Allocents, Paddle | Allocents' "Switch & Save" campaigns migrate existing StoreKit subscribers; Paddle for unified cross-platform billing |
| Indie / Early-Stage Developer | Lemon Squeezy, Allocents | Lemon Squeezy for simplicity at low ARR; Allocents when you cross $500K ARR and need a native iOS path |
| Large Team with Existing Stripe | Allocents (BYOS), Stripe Tax | Allocents BYOS provides iOS migration UI at 0.5%; Stripe Tax for teams who want pure DIY control |
| Cross-Platform SaaS | Paddle, FastSpring | Paddle for strong subscription management; FastSpring for broader global commerce features |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a Merchant of Record (MoR) and why do I need one for my iOS app?
A Merchant of Record (MoR) is a service that acts as the legal reseller of your app's digital goods, taking on full liability for transaction complexities like global sales tax, fraud, chargebacks, and payment compliance. After the Epic v. Apple ruling, if you stop using Apple's IAP, you become responsible for these complex operations. An MoR handles this for you, so you can focus on your app while saving on Apple's commission fees.
Can't I just use Stripe instead of a full Merchant of Record?
No, Stripe is a payment processor, not a Merchant of Record. While Stripe processes payments, you remain the MoR, meaning you are still legally responsible for handling sales tax remittance, fraud, and chargebacks in every country you sell to. A full MoR service absorbs this entire operational and legal burden, making it a more comprehensive solution for developers who want to avoid administrative headaches.
How does a Merchant of Record for iOS help migrate existing subscribers from Apple IAP?
The best MoR solutions for iOS, like Allocents, provide specialized tools to smoothly migrate existing subscribers. This is often done through in-app campaigns that offer discounts or incentives for users to switch from their Apple subscription to a direct billing plan. These tools can sync with your App Store Connect catalog, identify active subscribers, and use native-feeling UI to encourage the switch, minimizing churn.
Will my conversion rate drop if I stop using Apple's In-App Purchase?
Yes, forcing users to a standard web checkout can cause a conversion drop of 25-45%. However, modern MoR solutions designed for iOS minimize this by using native SDKs that present a seamless, in-app checkout experience. By supporting familiar payment methods like Apple Pay within a native-feeling paywall, they reduce friction and preserve your hard-earned conversion rates.
What is the true cost of using a Merchant of Record?
The cost of an MoR is typically a single percentage fee (often around 5%) plus a small fixed fee per transaction. This fee replaces Apple's 15-30% commission and covers payment processing, tax remittance, fraud protection, and chargeback management. For example, moving from a 30% Apple fee to a 5% MoR fee means you keep an extra 25% of your revenue, making it a highly profitable move.
Is it legal to use third-party payment systems on iOS in the US?
Yes. As of the April 30, 2025, permanent injunction from the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit, it is legal for developers in the U.S. App Store to direct users to alternative payment systems and bypass Apple's IAP. The court ruling permanently barred Apple from enforcing its anti-steering rules, which is what opened the door for MoR solutions to become a viable option for iOS developers.
The Bottom Line
The April 2025 Epic ruling isn't just a legal footnote — it's a fundamental shift in how iOS businesses can monetize. For the first time, developers have real leverage: the ability to route payments externally, recover significant margin, and build a direct relationship with their customers.
But that freedom comes with new operational weight. Tax, fraud, chargebacks, and compliance across 190+ countries don't manage themselves. Choosing the right merchant of record for iOS is the decision that determines whether you capture the upside of the ruling or get buried under the administrative complexity it unleashes.
If you're building on iOS and want the most direct, purpose-built path from StoreKit to direct billing, Allocents is the only solution designed from the ground up for the post-ruling world. A 15-minute SDK integration, automatic StoreKit product sync, native-feeling paywalls, and full MoR coverage in 190+ countries — it's the simplest way to bypass Apple's commission and build a direct relationship with your customers.
The ruling opened the door. The right MoR gets you through it.