Apple has been receiving a lot of love from games developers since the launch of the App Store - not just for the store itself, but for the prompt payments and reporting.

However, TechCrunch is reporting that developers are complaining of delays in payments for January, which were due last week.

It also prints an email sent out by Apple warning that "due to system enhancements, your February Financial Report(s) will be delivered later than recent months", although it claims developers will still get the reports within the 45-day period stated in their contracts.

Developers will be hoping it's a temporary snag, especially those indie firms relying on prompt payments to maintain development on their in-progress iPhone titles.

However, it does show the importance of reporting and payments to app stores like, well, the App Store.

iPhone has always benefitted from being considerably more open and prompt than the mobile operators who game developers are used to working with. But with stores on the way for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Nokia handsets, the App Store will soon face more comparisons on the processing side of things.