Australian Payments from Apple

Doguz

Hi again. Just want to re-open this discussion. Can all Australian developers please comment here. And tell me if your itunes Connect payment screens match your actual earnings. eg. what get's paid into your account.

The difference for me now is exactly $25 AUD. Every payment. I've spoken to Apple and they say they aren't withholding it. I've spoken to my bank and they say they aren't taking it. (Just a $2 transfer fee). So somewhere between Apple and my bank I'm losing $25 every month.

The fact that it's $25AUD even, every month, tells me that it's an Australian fee by an Australian business so maybe it's Apples bank in Australia? I think it may be the wire transfer fee.

Please tell me if you're Australian and also losing $25 each month. Is it something I/we can avoid? I can't imagine every dev in Australia is paying this fee. That's a lot of revenue for Apples bank partner.

Thanks in advance

Asobu_Games

Hey I'm an Aussie dev and have never really paid that much attention (since I work full time and iTunes is a very small part of my earnings) but I just checked my last payment and it is indeed exactly $25 short. Strange that both Apple and your bank say they aren't charging it. What bank are you with? I'm with IMB so doubt we have the same bank and therefore it must be on Apple's end, right?

Doguz

@Asobu_Games so you will also be shocked to hear that it amounts to $300 p/year in bank fees!! PLUS the $2 fee from your normal bank makes it $324.

I'm with BendigoBank. I'm pretty sure the fee is taken at via a middle man. eg Apple pays us via a 'transfer' bank. This is where the $25 is going. Not a bad little earner for them ey?

There must be an account from a particular bank that we can use to waive this fee and be paid directly though, don't you think?

Asobu_Games

Hmm yeah I'd be interested to know if any other Aussie devs have noticed this or figured a way around it. I suppose later when you are doing well and earning a lot, $324/year isn't a big deal, but for small earners it is a huge percentage of profits.

JaneO

Hi, Yes!!! I have just worked this out also. $25 each month. The difference between what Apple states they pay and what goes into the bank. My bank states that they don't charge a fee. Where is this money going to?

lycettebros

As dough said it is a payment bank used by apple who is taking the fee.

Doguz

Yes, I smell a rat. Apple takes $99 p/year to be a developer and this other anonymous company mentioned only in very fine print takes $300 p/year. The reality is the fee to sell on the Apple store is $399 p/year.

I'm not sure that we can avoid that. Can any other people from other countries tell us if they are in the same boat? I would assume that Americans don't have this problem.

DigiChain

I'm in the UK and have just checked my payments. I'm getting paid the correct amount with no deductions.

Doguz

Thanks @digichain

matarua

Seems us antipodeans get the bung ol end of the stick again eh. First Adobe overcharging and now the the banks are taking even more licence.

neoman

I had the same issue $25 taken out after each Apple payment and was advised by the bank that it was deposit fees because it is an international deposit ...

mounted88

To bad apple just don't pay through paypal to you guys, that shouldn't have any fees. Apple really should find away around that fee. Maybe if you get enough people to complain they will do something.

mmzbr

I had deductions in my payments also. Brazil here:

IOS App Store = something like U$15-20, probably bank fees.
Google play = U$40 wire international transfer feed (My bank)
Amazon is the worst for me, they substract 30% on my already 70% developer cut, they said its for USA taxes, but that happen only in Amazon USA, I received 70% from AMazon.uk.

Doguz

@mmzbr @neoman @mounted88 Thankyou for your input. I can't imagine Apple would change the way they pay. They have set-up partnerships with payment suppliers all over the world. The best bet we have is talking to each and every bank in Australia (and Brazil) and finding out if we could open an account with a partner of theirs that Apple is able to pay directly into. I'll certainly let everyone know if I find one.

Regarding the Amazon fees mmbzr, They keep a 30% witholding tax. This jerked me off, so I set about fixing it. Australia has a tax treaty with USA, so I could apply for a ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). This is a number from the American IRS. Once I supplied my ITIN to Amazon, the witholding tax is now reduced to just 5%.

Getting a ITIN took over half a year as everything needed to be posted from Australia to USA. I needed to do this twice because I didn't send the correct information the first time. I hesitated sending official photo ID, But it's a necessity, so I ended up just sending my drivers licence. (Everything got returned).

Another tip if I may. I get paid by cheque from Amazon. In US Dollars. To put this into my bank here in Australia costs me $25 for each cheque. I asked Amazon to not pay me until I ask. That way I'll get 1 cheque p/year. Which means just 1 $25 conversion fee. And a nice christmas bonus!

mmzbr

@Doguz Thanks for the tips, good to know about this request to retain the payments. I will check it out.

lycettebros

All good thoughts of Doguz - sharing the good info.
I take the Amazon hit on the cheques (I get a $15 fee), I am too impatient to wait a year for my money!
I gave them my ITN number and I still think I am getting slogged - will double check this.

Re Apple issue. We live in a small country, the politicians/institutions have no clout or choose not to use any with our overlords. So we get screwed.