Skip to main content

​
Introduction

Dodo Payments empowers developers to sell digital goods and services in iOS apps, handling complex aspects like tax compliance, currency conversion, and payouts. This comprehensive guide details how to integrate Dodo Payments into your iOS app, specifically for SaaS tools, content subscriptions, and digital utilities.

​
Overview

Dodo Payments serves as your Merchant of Record (MoR), managing critical aspects of your digital business:
  • Tax collection and remittance (VAT, GST, and other regional taxes)
  • Global payments as per policies and local payment methods
  • Currency conversion and foreign exchange
  • Chargebacks and fraud prevention
  • End-customer invoicing and receipts
  • Compliance with regional regulations

​
Use Cases

Subscriptions

  • Premium content or feature access
  • Recurring billing with flexible options, Free trials, Proration, or Upgrades and downgrades

Courses and Learning

  • Pay-per-course access
  • Bundled content packages
  • Lifetime or renewable licenses
  • Progress tracking integration

Digital Downloads

  • One-time purchases (PDFs, music, tools)
  • Digital asset delivery
  • License key management

SaaS Tools

  • Software-as-a-Service subscriptions
  • Usage-based billing
  • Team and enterprise plans

​
Integration Flow

Your app opens Dodo’s hosted checkout with the iOS checkout SDK, which presents it in SFSafariViewController and hands back a typed result.
Use the SDK rather than embedding checkout in a WebView. Apple Pay is only available in a real browser surface, so a WebView silently costs you wallet conversions — and payment flows inside a WebView are a common cause of App Store review rejections.

​
Integration Steps

1

Mobile App to Your Server

Your app asks your own backend for a checkout URL, authenticated with the signed-in user’s session token.
2

Your Server to Dodo API

Your backend creates a checkout session with your API key and returns the checkout_url to the app.
Create checkout sessions on your server, never in the app. An API key shipped inside an app binary can be extracted from the bundle.
3

Mobile App Opens Checkout

Pass the checkout_url to DodoCheckout.start(...). The SDK presents it in SFSafariViewController and resolves with a typed result when the customer completes or dismisses checkout.
4

Dodo Payments to Your Server

Dodo Payments calls your webhook endpoint when the payment succeeds or the subscription activates.
5

Your Server Grants Access

Unlock the purchased content from that webhook, not from the result the app received. The SDK result is a UI hint, not proof of payment.

iOS Checkout SDK

Install steps and the full start(...) contract for Swift.

Mobile Integration Guide

The end-to-end flow, plus the same contract for Android, React Native, and Flutter.

​
Regional Availability

Dodo Payments enables alternative in-app purchase flows only in App Store regions where Apple explicitly allows external payments, or where a regulator or court order mandates it.

​
Supported Regions

Supported to the extent permitted by current court orders and Apple’s updated guidelines.
  • Available under specific court-mandated provisions
  • Subject to Apple’s compliance with legal requirements
  • Must follow Apple’s implementation guidelines
Supported via Apple’s EU Alternative Terms and External Purchase Entitlement.
  • Enabled through Apple’s EU Alternative Terms
  • Requires External Purchase Entitlement approval
  • Must comply with EU Digital Markets Act requirements
Supported through the StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement for Korea-only binaries.
  • Available via StoreKit External Purchase Entitlement
  • Requires Korea-specific app binary
  • Must comply with Korean telecommunications law
Always review and comply with Apple’s region-specific entitlements and App Store Connect requirements before enabling Dodo Payments for any storefront. Using alternative payment flows in unsupported regions may result in app rejection or removal.
For some business models - such as services or certain categories of content - Apple may not require the use of in-app purchase (IAP) at all. Dodo Payments supports these models as well. Always verify your app’s classification and Apple’s latest guidelines to determine if IAP is mandatory for your use case.

​
Learn More

For a detailed breakdown of global policies, legal precedents, and strategic approaches to bypassing App Store fees, see our comprehensive guide:

Bypassing App Store & Play Store Fees: A Strategic and Legal Playbook

Learn where and how you can legally implement alternative payment flows, with up-to-date regional guidance and compliance tips.
Last modified on July 28, 2026