Physical Goods vs. Digital Content: The Rule That Trips Everyone Up
The single most important payments decision in a mobile app is which payment system you're even allowed to use. For physical goods and real-world services — food delivery, retail, ride bookings, in-person appointments — you can and should use Stripe directly. For digital content and subscriptions consumed inside the app, Apple and Google generally require their own in-app purchase billing.
Getting this wrong is a top reason apps get rejected or pulled. We map each of your purchase types to the correct rail before writing a line of checkout code, so you don't build a flow the stores won't approve.
- Stripe for physical goods, real-world services, and in-person payments
- Apple/Google in-app purchase for digital goods and subscriptions
- Correct handling of the categories where the rules overlap
- Apple Pay and Google Pay for fast, trusted checkout
- Server-side price and inventory validation so totals can't be tampered with
Subscriptions, Saved Cards, and Getting Paid Reliably
Payments aren't just the checkout screen. Recurring billing, saved payment methods, failed-payment retries, refunds, and receipts all have to work, and they all have to survive the user closing the app mid-purchase.
We build against Stripe's server-side APIs and webhooks so your backend is the source of truth for what was actually paid — not the phone, which can lose signal or be manipulated.
- PCI-conscious setup where card data goes to Stripe, never your servers
- Saved cards and one-tap repeat purchases
- Subscription plans, trials, upgrades, and cancellations
- Webhook-driven fulfillment so orders only complete on confirmed payment
- Receipts, refund handling, and a clear record of every transaction
More on cross-platform apps
Frequently asked questions
Can I just use Stripe and skip Apple's 15–30% fee?
Only for the right categories. Physical goods and real-world services can go through Stripe with no store commission. Digital content and in-app subscriptions generally must use Apple/Google billing, and steering users to an outside payment page for those can get your app rejected. We'll classify each of your purchase types honestly so you use Stripe everywhere it's actually allowed.
Is it safe to handle credit cards in a mobile app?
Yes, when done correctly. Card details are entered into Stripe's SDK and tokenized so they never touch your servers, which keeps you out of the heaviest PCI scope. Your backend only ever sees tokens and confirmations. We build it this way by default.
What does adding payments cost to build?
It depends on how many purchase types you have, whether you need subscriptions and trials, and whether some flows must use store billing while others use Stripe. Stripe's own processing fees are separate and set by Stripe. We scope the build in a free consultation rather than quoting a flat number, since a single-product checkout and a multi-tier subscription app are very different jobs.