How to Add Payments to an iPhone App: Which Kind, and How (2026)

By Sigsten Gustavii· 27 October 2026· 8 min read

To add payments to an iPhone app, work out what you are selling, check which of Apple's payment rules applies to it, then either set up Apple's in-app purchase for digital things or a card payment provider for physical goods and services, and test the full purchase before review. With Borel, both routes are a form or a key away.

Most rejections about payments come from mixing these up: selling a premium feature through a card form, or trying to sell a pizza through in-app purchase. Get the row right and the rest is setup.

Route 1: Apple's in-app purchase

For anything digital that unlocks inside the app, Apple's in-app purchase is required. It is also the easiest route for people: they pay with their Apple ID, Apple handles receipts and refunds, and Restore Purchases brings what they bought to a new phone.

1. In Borel, open Payments in the chat's + menu.
2. Give the plan a name, choose a cycle (weekly, monthly, every 2, 3 or 6 months, yearly, or one-time) and set the price.
3. Send it with a message saying what the plan unlocks.
4. Borel writes the paywall on Apple's StoreKit with Apple's own price, the terms, Restore Purchases and links to the Terms and Privacy Policy.
5. When you publish, Borel creates the product in App Store Connect under your account.

Buying opens once the app is on the App Store. Apple keeps 15% under its Small Business Program for developers earning up to $1 million a year, and 30% otherwise. The full guide is how to add in-app purchases.

Route 2: card payments for goods and services

For physical products and real-world services, Apple requires a payment method other than in-app purchase. In a Borel app, that means a payment provider like Stripe:

1. Create an account with the provider and get its secret key.
2. In Borel, add the key under Tools, in Keys. It is stored encrypted and sent only to that provider; the app reaches it through Borel's server, so the key is never inside the app.
3. Ask Borel to open a Stripe Checkout page for the cart or booking.
4. Test every path with the provider's test mode, then switch to the live key.

The provider charges its own fees per payment; Apple takes nothing on these sales. Paying other people out, as a marketplace does, needs more than checkout; read how to create a marketplace app.

Card checkout works for bookings and deposits too: a salon taking a deposit for an appointment, a guide taking payment for a Saturday walk, a club selling tickets to its dinner. Each is a real-world service, so it goes through your provider rather than Apple. Keep what was paid with the booking in the app's database, so staff can see at a glance who has paid and who will pay on the day.

Route 3: pay in person

Often the right start. A café app that takes orders and lets people pay at the counter, a delivery app that takes payment on the doorstep, a club app whose dues are paid by bank transfer: none of them needs payment code at all. Add card checkout later, when people ask for it.

Special cases

• Donations. Unless you are an Apple-approved nonprofit, Guideline 3.2.2(iv) says money for charities and fundraisers is collected outside the app, such as on a page in Safari. A Borel app's Give button opens your giving page.
• Real money gaming. Betting and casino apps need licences, and Guideline 5.3.3 forbids buying their credit with in-app purchase. Not something to build with an AI builder.
• Coins and credits. Apple calls these consumables. They are allowed through in-app purchase; Borel's payment form builds subscriptions and one-time unlocks today, not consumables.
• Free apps that link to paid web tools. Rules differ by storefront and change over time; read Apple's current guidelines before you add any link to outside purchases.

Common payment mistakes

1. A card form for a digital feature. Apple rejects apps that unlock features with outside payments, license keys or codes (3.1.1).
2. In-app purchase for a physical product. Equally wrong the other way round (3.1.3(e)).
3. A price typed into the app for an in-app purchase. Show the price StoreKit gives, in the buyer's currency.
4. No Restore Purchases. Apple expects a way to restore anything restorable.
5. A secret key inside the app. Anything in an app can be extracted; keys belong on a server, which is where Borel keeps them.
6. Untested failures. A declined card or a cancelled checkout should leave the cart intact and say what happened in plain words.

Refunds, receipts and support

With in-app purchase, Apple sends receipts and handles refund requests through the buyer's Apple ID, and people manage subscriptions in their settings. With a card provider, your provider sends receipts and you handle refunds from its dashboard. Either way, put a support email in the app's settings so people can reach you, and say in the app how to cancel or ask for a refund. Clear answers here prevent bad reviews more than any feature.

Fees compared

See Borel's pricing for plans.

Testing payments

For in-app purchase, the paywall shows in the iOS Simulator in your browser and on your iPhone with Borel Companion on Pro, and buying opens once the app is on the App Store. For card checkout, use the provider's test mode and test cards in the simulator and on your phone, including a declined card and a cancelled checkout.

How to choose

• Selling something digital inside the app? Apple's in-app purchase. In Borel: Payments in the + menu.
• Selling something physical or in person? A card provider, or pay in person. In Borel: your key under Tools, in Keys.
• Not sure yet? Start with pay in person or a free app, and add payments when people want to pay.

How to do it with Borel, step by step

Step 1: Decide what is paid

Write down what you sell and pick its row in the table above.

Step 2a: For digital, fill in Payments

Free people can save 20 recipes. Pro unlocks unlimited recipes, meal plans and the shopping list. Show the paywall when someone saves recipe 21 and from a Go Pro row in settings.

Step 2b: For physical, add your provider's key

Checkout should open a Stripe Checkout page for the cart total in SEK, using our Stripe key. After payment, mark the order paid and show the order status. If checkout is cancelled, keep the cart.

Step 3: Test, then publish

Test the paywall or checkout on a live iPhone, then publish under your Apple Developer account. Stamp checks the paywall's terms and links before you submit.

The Bottom Line

Payments on iPhone come down to one question: is it digital inside the app, or something in the real world? Digital goes through Apple's in-app purchase, which Borel builds and sets up at Apple for you; real-world goods and services go through a card provider with your key on Borel's server, or are paid in person. Pick your row, open your app in Borel, and set up the right one.

I think one question settles most payment confusion: is it digital, or in the real world? Pick your row and set up the right one.

– Sigsten

Make your iPhone app in Borel

Describe the app you want and see its first screens before you pay anything.