During his appearance on the Decoder podcast, Hinge co-founder and CEO Justin McLeod said that the company would like to introduce an alternative payment service by the end of this year.
According to McLeod, with Hinge’s alternative payment service, Apple will not be able to get a cut of any purchases, and this “changes the equation” for Hinge on “many fronts.” Not only will Hinge be able to invest more in the company, but he says it also “could lead to lower prices.” It also “definitely gives us a great opportunity to invest in the core product experience at a time when there are massive disruptions.”
Hinge’s ability to use its own payment service in its iOS app comes on the heels of the recent landmark decision in Epic Games v. Apple, which prohibits Apple from charging fees for in-app purchases. Epic is already trying to attract developers to use its payment platform, and Stripe offers an option outside of Apple’s platform.
The Match Group, which owns Hinge and other dating apps such as Tinder, OkCupid, and Match, has been a vocal critic of Apple’s App Store fees. McLeod says the payment service will “most likely” be specific to Hinge, not Match Group.
