Amidst backlash from the Indian startup ecosystem, Google on Monday said it had deferred its earlier controversial decision of charging 30 percent commission on apps that have subscription services for digital goods on its Play Store in India till April 2022.
In a blog post, Google said, “First and foremost, we want to reiterate that we are deeply committed to the success of the Indian ecosystem — we do not succeed unless our partners succeed. Being mindful of local needs and concerns, we’ve taken the following immediate steps.”
The third, and the most critical point, Google said, “We’re also extending the time for developers in India to integrate with the Play Store billing system to ensure they have enough time to implement UPI for the subscription payment option that will be made available on Google Play. For all apps that currently use an alternative payment system, we set a timeline of 31st March 2022.”
On September 29, Alphabet-owned Google announced changes in its policy on how it charges a commission for apps, which have subscription services on its Play Store, and wanted everybody to use its payment gateway for the payments. This meant a 30 percent commission charge on any app with a subscription service, which was a steep price. Indian startups protested against the Google policy and also sought the Indian government’s intervention.