Google Relents By Deferring 30% Play Store App Fee For Developers 

Indian companies and startups are beginning to come together and are calling for an Indian companies only alliance, to take on tech giant Google.  This comes after a severe backlash from the Indian Startup ecosystem over Google’s billing policies.  Last month Google clarified apps which fall under the category of education, games, dating and other content must use its in-app Google billing system in India as long as the apps are distributed through Google Play store.  

Phones which run on Google’s open source operating system, Android, own about 90% of the smartphone market in India.  Paytm was pulled out from Google’s Play store for several hours after Google said Paytm violated its policies.  Sensing the disgruntlement among Indian startups, which incidentally also contribute to Google’s cloud business, the tech giant took the decision to defer the 30% commission till March 2022.

“We will be setting up Policy Workshops to help clear any additional questions about our play store policies (sic,)” Purnima Kocchar, Director of Business Development, Games & Applications, Google Play said in a blog post.

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The move was welcomed by the Indian Startup ecosystem as they believe Google is listening to their concerns while some leading startups believe this deferment offers a unique opportunity to come up with an Indian alternative for the play store under the Atmanirbhar Bharat push.  Paytm on Sunday said it is starting a service where other apps can be listed on its payments app and one can use them within Paytm, similar to a super app.  Paytm said it has been testing the mini app store with select users and it will be free of charge.  Paytm’s Mini App Store aims to  drive a self-sufficient India and retain consumer spending within the country, the startup said in a statement Monday.  Pioneered by Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat, mini apps are custom-built, low-cost software for basic mobile phones that offer users an app-like experience without the need to download full versions. 

Founder of CCAvenues, Vishwas Patel said “ust because Google owns the gate and the gateway to the digital ecosystem of this country, they should not act arbitrarily and enforce their rules and regulations which are contrary to our country’s laws.  Also, they cannot force Indian apps developers/owners selling digital services to compulsorily use the Google Billing and payment system and charge 30 % MDR (sic.)” 

India has a wealth of technical resources and it will be interesting to see how the Indian Startups will come up with ideas to create a new system which will bring down the digital monopoly of a behemoth.