Google defers charging 30% mandatory Play Store commission in India
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- Google is delaying its plans to collect a mandatory 30% Play Store commission in India.
- The company’s decision appears to be in response to retaliation from Indian startups.
- Indian payment startup Paytm has already launched a competing app store with some popular apps.
Google is postponing its controversial new billing policy for the Play Store in India to March 31, 2022. The new rules prevent apps from bypassing Google’s payment system and are set to take effect worldwide from September 21. They make sure that Google gets its 30% commission on all paid apps and in-app purchases.
In its latest blog post, Google says it is setting up listening sessions and policy workshops with leading Indian startups. The internet giant is also extending the time for developers in India to integrate the Google Play billing system so they can implement a UPI payment option. UPI is a unified payment system in India that enables instant money transfer between two bank accounts. It is widely used for online transactions in the country and Google Pay is one of the many apps that offer the payment method.
Additionally, Google makes it clear that its policy to reduce Play Store transactions by 30% is not new. The company claims that more than 97% of developers with apps on the Google Play Store are already following them. Google also reiterates that the policy only applies to less than 3% of developers. While Google will enforce its in-app purchase policies more strictly in the future, it has promised that it will offer better support for third-party stores in Android 12.
Indian startups are firing back
Google’s decision to postpone enforcement of its new policy in India comes days after reports of retaliation from Indian startups. Last week it was reported that 150 startups across the country are considering an alternative app marketplace that can rival the Google Play Store. In fact, Paytm, one of the largest wallet apps in India, has already launched a mini app store that includes popular apps like 1 mg, Practo, Domino’s Pizza, Gaana and more. The startup claims that more than 300 companies have signed up for its Play Store rival.
Google has certainly chosen the wrong time to announce its policy changes, especially as Apple is already criticized for having to use its payment systems for app developers. We’ll have to wait and see if this retaliation by Indian startups will spark a major mutiny against Google’s policy revisions worldwide.
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