Google has announced it will be allowing Spotify and Bumble to use their own payment system to bill customers for subscriptions from right within their Android apps CNBC reported. This forms part of Google’s new User Choice Billing feature that is aimed at providing users with more payment options when it comes to making in-app purchases. This also makes for a significant development considering that this would enable the apps to bypass the standard Google Play billing system in favor of their own billing feature.
Spotify welcomed the move claiming this will usher in an era of greater platform transparency while users too will have more options to make a payment. The streaming giant also termed the move as a ‘bold step to help level the playing field’. However, Google will still be taking a cut from the payment though that likely could be smaller than what it charges via the Google Play billing system. A support document revealed the service fee paid by the developer gets reduced by 4 percent each time users opt for the alternate billing feature.
The above also comes at a time when Spotify is engaged in a tiff with Apple over the same issue, that of in-app payment system. While Spotify is yearning for a system where it is not required to pay a cut of the fees it charges from its customers to Apple, the Cupertino giant will have none of it. So far, Google and Apple had made it mandatory to make all transactions from right within their respective app stores. Further, it is usually 15 – 30 percent that Google and Apple would take from all transactions that take place.
Spotify has been most vocal against the system which it has termed anti-competitive even though Apple justifies it claiming it allows for optimum user security and privacy. That said, the iPhone maker allows third-party billing in South Korea to comply with local laws though that isn’t applicable in most countries it operates in. Under the circumstances, Google’s User Choice Billing initiative that provides third-party apps direct billing rights can be seen as a move to hit the proverbial middle ground.
While it would still be getting a cut from the in-app transaction fees even if that is handled by the app and not the Play Store, it wouldn’t be in the direct line of fire of those who have been protesting against Apple’s steadfast refusal to be accommodative to any of it.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
