Google Extends Third-Party Play Store Payments To More Countries

Google’s answer to enabling third-party payment options in the Google Play Store — User Choice Billing — is now being piloted in more countries to let developers of non-gaming Android apps test offering payment alternatives.

Developers will see the typical 15% to 30% service fee charged by Google drop by 4% when users opt to use a third-party billing option, according to multiple media outlets on Friday (Sept. 2). App developers who go that route will then have to deal with customer billing disputes.

Registered developers from the European Economic Area (EEA), India, Japan, Indonesia and Australia can participate in User Choice Billing as of Thursday (Sept. 1), according to Google’s enrollment page.

“Android has always been a uniquely open operating system and we continue to evolve our platform and increase the choices available to developers and users while maintaining our ability to invest in the ecosystem,” a Google spokesperson said.

“With this next phase of Google Play’s user choice billing pilot, all non-gaming developers can offer an additional billing choice alongside Play’s billing system for their users in Australia, Japan, India, Indonesia, and the European Economic Area. We will be sharing more in the coming months as we continue to build and iterate with our pilot partners,” the spokesperson said.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.