The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has closed two heavy-weight cases in anticipation for the new digital markets competition regime’s rollout.

The new digital markets competition regime was outlined in the approved Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCCA), and will provide new powers to the CMA to specifically regulate companies designated to have Strategic Market Status (SMS).

Until SMS organisations are identified however, the CMA has decided to close two separate cases against Google and Apple’s respective app stores as the markets authority waits for their new powers to take affect.

The cases dealt with the companies’ app store payment policies, which may limit application developer’s choices for payment solutions of in-app game purchases. The CMA initially opened the cases because it was concerned that Google and Apple were leveraging their market positions to promote their own payment platforms, potentially leading to higher prices and reduced choice for app users.

The move to close the cases comes as the CMA recently rejected commitments submitted by Google to quell competition concerns. The commitments would have given app developers the ability to use alternative payment options, but after consulting app developers, the CMA was “not satisfied” that the commitments were enough.

Developers contested that they would still owe commission to Google, and that Google’s proposed “pop-up screens” for different payment options could put users off of completing transactions altogether.

After reviewing the two cases under the DMMCA, the CMA decided to close its investigations under the existing Competition Act.

The CMA has said that if Apple and Google are deemed to have SMS, then the CMA will be empowered to consider a range of issues raised by parties more holistically than it would under its current investigation powers.

In all likelihood, Apple and Google would fall under the SMS category due to their dominance across several digital markets. The new DCMMA offers similar powers to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which also has a special designation and specific powers for companies with obvious market dominance.

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“Once the new pro-competition digital markets regime comes into force, we’ll be able to consider applying those new powers to concerns we have already identified through our existing work,” Will Hayter, executive director for Digital Markets at the CMA, said.

“It’s critical that tech businesses in the UK, including app developers, can have access to a fair and competitive app ecosystem, helping to grow the sector, boost investment and result in better outcomes for UK consumers. These are all factors we are considering before launching our first investigations under the new regime.”

The CMA has said that it intends to launch around three to four SMS investigations within the first year of the new digital markets regime coming to force, which is expected later this year.