Apple doesn't just require you use their payment processor - which might in theory be acceptable - they also demand 30 cents on every dollar. Payment providers everywhere have shown that fraud and abuse can be mitigated to an acceptable level with transaction fees as low as half a cent on the dollar. So Apple forces you into an agreement to use a payment processor that is 30-60x more expensive than the competition simply because they can.
Correct for credit card transactions but not for gift card credit which A LOT of people use. Far more than you’d assume. Apple doesn’t get all $50 when you buy an Apple gift card. I’d be surprised if they even got net $40 per $50 card.
The physical cards cost money to produce and the retail stores will insist upon a decent cut. And then the cards are often discounted by 10, 15 or even 20%.
