Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. along with Apple Inc. have come under pressure from regulators globally who accuse the twin mobile giants of forcing developers to use their payment systems, then taking an outsized cut of revenue.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Google discriminating against developers in its Play store billing policy. Google generally took a 30% commission on most app store purchases and subscriptions, but lowered the fee in recent years to 15% for media providers like Spotify.
Referring to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or state-backed payments infrastructure, the agency said, “Google is imposing unfair and discriminatory conditions in violation of regulations. Google’s conduct is also resulting in denial of market access to competing UPI apps since the market for UPI enabled digital payment apps is multi-sided, and the network effects will lead to a situation where Google Pay’s competitors will be completely excluded from the market in the long run.
However, Google said in a statement, “We will continue to engage with the CCI and demonstrate that our practices benefit Indian consumers and developers, without in any way restricting competition.”
Google generally took a 30% commission on most app store purchases and subscriptions, but lowered the fee in recent years to 15% for media providers like Spotify. Spotify is one of several companies that have complained about the inability to use their own billing systems on mobile app stores.
