A US appeals court placed an injunction on a ruling requiring Apple to open its App Store to third-party payments, which would have cut the commission the iPhone maker receives when users make purchases.
The court made its decision less than a day before the ruling was due to take effect, clearing Apple to appeal the judgement ordering the changes.
Apple argued that opening the App Store could harm consumers by reducing privacy and security.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts estimated the proposed payment policy changes could cost Apple at least $2 billion a year, less than 1 per cent of its annual revenue.
The case against Apple was initiated by Epic Games, which accused it of violating US and Californian competition laws. Both companies are appealing elements of the previous court ruling.
Apple has made some changes, allowing publishers to direct users to their own sites to purchase subscriptions, and developers to communicate directly with app users.
In South Korea, Apple claims it is allowing users to pay for apps through developers’ payment systems to comply with a new law.
