iOS Development: Paying for items in-app

Question

I'm developing an app which will cater for in-app purchases but not in the traditional sense of addons for games, upgrades, etc.

The app will connect to the user's profile on our API and see if they have any Payment Profiles, which we would use to pay for an item (in this case a ticket) on the website.

It is my understanding after reading up on this that even though you pay Apple their $99 a year they still demand app-purchases go through Apple Pay.

Is my use case of allowing users to pay using their account's Payment Profiles via the app? No card details would need to be entered.

In the case they haven't yet added a Payment Profile (signed up on the app, for example) - how do I go about processing payments this way - again, where do I stand?

Answer 1

Actually, the review guidelines about In-App Purchases are very clear. It depends on one single thing:

(in this case a ticket)

What kind of ticket is this? If this ticket enables some additional functionality within your app, you must do this with In-App Purchases and offer no other alternative:

3.1.1 In-App Purchase:

• If you want to unlock features or functionality within your app, (by way of example: subscriptions, in-game currencies, game levels, access to premium content, or unlocking a full version), you must use in-app purchase. Apps may use in-app purchase currencies to enable customers to “tip” digital content providers in the app. Apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than IAP.

If it's a physical or electronic ticket for an event or something similar, you may not use In-App Purchases, but Apple Pay and your own Payment Profiles are both allowed:

3.1.5 Physical Goods and Services Outside of the App:

If your app enables people to purchase goods or services that will be consumed outside of the app, you must use purchase methods other than IAP to collect those payments, such as Apple Pay or traditional credit card entry. Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies (e.g. Bitcoin, DogeCoin) provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions.