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Actually I'm developing an iOS application for specific mobile operator, The app will be free , and some content need to be paid so the operator need users to pay via Premium SMS or IVR (interactive voice replay), But after make some search i found that Apple maybe will reject the app. because the need all payment being done via there system i.e via in-app purchase or paid Model .

What is the ways to solve this problem , and How can i achieve this (Premium SMS ,paid IVR) ?

Adel
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  • I cant get your question clearly.. are you trying to send SMS from mobile i.e iPhone to other users am I right?? if that is the case the cost of the SMS will be determined by the service provider. Correct me if I am wrong. – Dilip Rajkumar Jul 04 '12 at 08:58
  • @DilipRajkumar No , my question is : i want to make a free application and some of his content need to buy via operator (not via in-app purchase) , the operation of buying this content by sending an SMS called premium SMS (to short number)and this SMS will cost the user more that the normal SMS , after that i can know who payed to the operator (who send the SMS) via service that provided from operator so i let this user who paid to view the content because he paid for this data (the cost of data is the amount of money he paid for SMS OR how much he paid cost for the SMS) did you got it ? – Adel Jul 04 '12 at 09:29
  • Ohh I got it.. If you are ok to leave the application while sending the SMS.. you can solve this problem like using the iPhone sms (MFMessageComposeViewController) by giving the message and number see this link http://blog.mugunthkumar.com/coding/iphone-tutorial-how-to-send-in-app-sms/ .. hope it helps.. – Dilip Rajkumar Jul 04 '12 at 10:02
  • @DilipRajkumar thanks for Replay but it seems you need more clarification , the problem not in technical issues, the problem in model i.e i expect apple will not allow to this model be on store (to pay vis sms) they aim to make payment via in-app purchase so if i develop this app with this concept dose apple reject my app ? – Adel Jul 04 '12 at 10:47
  • I hope your app should not get rejected. But I am not sure. I know my answer is not that satisfactory sorry for that.. One lame solution is you can submit to app sore and check whether they will reject or not. YOu will not get any loss right..:) – Dilip Rajkumar Jul 04 '12 at 12:13

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The bad news is: you can't ship an app that is solely based on paid sms from within the app. As this article on arstechnica states:

Content providers can continue to offer outside subscriptions that are accessible via an iOS app, so long as no external links to outside purchasing mechanisms are built into the app. If subscribers can pay for content within the app, it must use in-app purchasing APIs, though content providers are now free to set whatever price they like.

If you really want to deploy paid text messages, you could integrate in-app-purchase with a high price. Additionally you offer paid text messages at a lower price(Users send a text message via their ordinary message app to a number you tell them via your web page or ad or any other way). So users will tend take advantage of the lower price and will send text messages. An obstacle will be, that Apple won't allow a reference to the cheaper payment method from within the app. So it depends, on how you inform your users about your app and payment methods.

alex
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  • This is not 100% true. It depends on the product you want to cell. If it is digital content unlocked inside the app, you have to use in-app purchase. If it is a "real life" product or a service outside the app store, you can use your own payment method. This may be helpful http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6481517/accept-payment-on-ios-apps – DarkLeafyGreen Apr 07 '14 at 08:35