Google has recently announced that app developers are now allowed to provide an alternative billing option for in-app purchases within the borders of India from April 26, 2023.
The step has been taken as it began to conform with the Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s newest antitrust directives.
Google Play’s Payment Policy
On February 22, Google publicized through a support page in which it stated that it is updating Google Play’s Payment policy regarding recent regulatory advancements in the country which will be effective from April 26.
Because of this step, developers will get the benefit of offering an additional billing system to users along with Google Play while buying in-app digital content.
If a user is paying with the help of an alternative billing system, then the transaction will be put down to a service fee, however at a 4% rate reduction.
By this, it is clear that developers will have to spend a service fee starting from 6% to 26% for in-app purchases as well as subscriptions. The service fee will rely on the type of app/ service and also the annual revenue produced by them through the Play Store.
What does the support page say?
The support page also states that “The service of Play Store has never been only a fee for payment processing. It shows the worth given by Android as well as Play Store and all the services we provide, adding app distribution and discovery, the commerce platform, developer tools, analytics, training, and much more.”
Google has also highlighted ‘interim steps’ that developers are required to take to provide an alternative billing system till the time it “makes APIs which will simplify integration in this very year.”
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Developers that are interested in executing an alternative billing system will be needed to shift to the firm’s automated APIs once they are accessible in this year.
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