Google is expanding its third-party in-app billing pilot program to new markets including India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the European Economic Area (EEA). With the latest update, non-gaming developers of mobile or tablet apps can use an additional billing system with Google Play. Developers will be charged service charges under the Choice Billing Pilot Project. When a customer chooses to use an alternative billing system, the service charge paid by the developer will be reduced by 4 percent.
Search monster declared Expansion of the User Choice Billing Pilot Program to India and four other markets through its support page. With the latest update, developers of non-gaming apps with businesses registered in India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the European Economic Area (EEA) can use an alternative billing mechanism on par with Google Play.
There will be a service fee for developers that will be reduced by 4 percent if customers use the alternative system, Google confirmed.
“We will share more in the coming months as we continue to build and iterate with our pilot partners”, PTI reported quoting a Google spokesperson. At checkout, users are able to choose which billing system to use.
Under the pilot program, developers are required to report the amount of all paid transactions through an alternative billing system for invoicing to Google Play.
The Alphabet-owned company and Apple are currently facing global scrutiny for forcing software developers to use their payment systems, charging high fees and allegedly engaging in anti-competitive behavior. In early March, Google allowed Spotify to use Spotify’s payment system as well as Google Play billing in select countries as part of a new initiative.
