Google today said it will start offering users’ selection charge in the United Kingdom, giving Google Play developers the ability to use other billing options instead of the Google system. The change starts on March 29, initially only to non -play developers.
If developers choose it, they can’t replace the Google Play bill completely. Instead, the third party route will be offered as an option.
Developers who choose to use an alternative billing option receive a 4% discount from the fees they pay on Google (to calculate the fees that third parties can also charge). Google usually gets a cut of up to 30% in in -application transactions and in the downloads.
To one blog Announcing the change, Google claimed that more than 90% of developers on its platform are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with Google Play inherent charge. However, he added: “We recognize that some developers may want more options for how they process payments. This launch allows developers to offer an additional billing system alongside Google Play’s billing system and users can choose which option to use in the Fund.”
Backstory is a little less pink than google is just a good guy.
Google’s move is actually a long -awaited response to an exploration of the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) dating from 2022.
At that time, the competition observer was published a reference Based on an annual study of the mobile ecosystem and noted that both Google and Apple’s power on the market could be subject to regulatory control. Companies’ app stores-which were the only billing providers for their respective platforms-were a special focal point when investigating Google and Apple’s anti-Tenamine regime.
That was just the beginning. In 2023, Google suggested that it could provide a user selection charge to developers to settle the antitrust detector. In response, the CMA opened a consultation and called on developers to provide comments about Google’s proposal.
The CMA finally closed the detector against Google and Apple last year, noting that it was planning to use regulatory reforms, such as the digital market competition bill to regulate these mobile telephony companies.
Meanwhile, Google allows the charge of third parties elsewhere, responding to regulatory pressure to open the applications store in longer competition.
Countries where Google already offers user selection charges includes USA, India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the European Economic Area (EEA), which follow the same committees and charges as in the UK
