Paddle and Vercel partner to help developers capitalize on historic App Store ruling

• New US court ruling allows app developers to direct users to external web checkouts for app purchases, unlocking higher margins and ownership of the customer relationship
  
• Paddle and Vercel have partnered to launch two new tools - Hosted Checkouts and Checkout Starter Kit - to help developers start building and deploying web-based checkouts
  
• This means developers can immediately set up their external purchase flow that they own end-to-end 

LONDON, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Paddle, the leading Merchant of Record (MoR) for digital product companies, has partnered with Vercel, the complete platform for the web, to launch two new tools that will help app developers take advantage of a pivotal legal shift in the mobile ecosystem: the recent US court ruling against Apple, which now allows apps to direct American users to external web checkouts for in-app purchases.

These changes unlock significant opportunities for app companies, including boosting margins with lower fees, unlocking pricing model flexibility, and regaining control over customer relationships. In response, Paddle is launching two powerful tools that make it easier than ever to build external purchase flows:

• Hosted Checkouts – a low-code solution that enables developers to create a secure, web-based checkout directly from their Paddle dashboard. With a hosted URL generated and managed by Paddle, developers can quickly integrate compliant purchase flows into their apps.
• Checkout Starter Kit – a customizable template built by Vercel, designed for fast deployment of web checkouts on a developer's own domain. The kit includes frontend components optimized for performance and flexibility, enabling a branded, seamless payment experience.

For developers seeking deeper customization, Paddle also provides Paddle.js and native SDKs, offering full control over the web checkout experience — including support for embedded flows, advanced integrations, and seamless app linkage.

"By combining Vercel's world-class frontend platform with Paddle's MoR infrastructure, we're unlocking the next evolution in app monetization," said Jimmy Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer at Paddle. "This partnership is all about empowerment. We're making sure developers can act on the court ruling immediately with new tools that are fast to deploy and optimized for growth. With Paddle and Vercel, developers can finally build purchase experiences that they own end-to-end - maximizing margins, deepening customer relationships, and scaling with confidence outside of closed ecosystems."

"For native developers, the court's ruling unlocks real choice," said Fernando Rojo, Head of Mobile at Vercel. "You can stick with Apple's in-app payments, or you can route users to your own checkout experience. One you design, one you own."

Unlike traditional Payment Service Providers (PSP), Paddle operates as a Merchant of Record (MoR), which means it acts as the reseller of an app; operating in a similar way to the appstores, but for web payments. 

As a MoR, Paddle handles the complex operational and compliance burdens that come with taking payments outside of Apple's ecosystem. This includes:

• Managing global sales tax and regulatory compliance
• Handling chargebacks, refunds, and fraud prevention
• Providing buyer billing support at scale

With these new tools, developers can set up their first external purchase flow in minutes, drive greater margins, improve retention, and start scaling more profitably. Users can find out more about the benefits of the tools and how they work here.

About Paddle

Paddle helps over 6,000 digital product companies operate and grow, automatically. As a Merchant of Record (MoR), Paddle manages the complexity of global payments and currencies, refunds, and sales tax compliance on your behalf. We give you insight into your revenue metrics, benchmark your performance and provide the tools and expert advice to accelerate your growth. We're backed by world-class investors including KKR, FTV Capital, Kindred, Notion, and 83North, and have raised almost $300m in financing.

About Vercel

Vercel gives developers the tools and cloud infrastructure to build, scale, and secure a faster, more personalized web. As the team behind v0, Next.js, and AI SDK, Vercel helps customers like Ramp, Supreme, PayPal, Chick-fil-A, and Under Armour build for the AI-native web.