Google has sent out a warning to several developers regarding the use of alternate payment methods like PayPal, Zong and Boku. Many developers could even lose their apps from the Android Market, which is now called Google Play. Developers say that Google is trying to simplify consumer payments while at the same time hoping to increase the number of app purchases. Google’s new payment service charges a higher cut per transaction in comparison to its competitors. Critics claim that Google is exploiting its position in the app market to promote its own payment service.
Google Play or the Android Market as it better known is Google’s answer to the Apple App Store where consumers can download anything and everything from applications to music and games. Google is promoting Google Wallet as the dominant way that people will pay on this platform. In an email sent to a developer, Google asks the developer to comply within 30 days or the developer’s apps are likely to be suspended. Google claims that the reduced use of Google Wallet services is equivalent to violating the terms and conditions of Android app development. Many social game networks in the app market currently use services like PayPal and claim that the move to Google Wallet is too arduous. Many such networks are demanding a little freedom or a time on the issue of switching to Google Wallet.
Google on the other hand claims that the move is both important and necessary for the enterprise as a whole. Although the Android Market has always been quite popular courtesy the increasing number of Android smartphones, Google has never really managed to improve the quantity of apps sold on the Market, with most people opting for free apps. Google believes the main reason behind this issue is the buying experience, which in its opinion has been confusing, thus reducing the probability of a customer actually going through the tedious process of making a purchase. Henceforth, Google hopes to simplify the process by following a universal procedure. Hence, there is a need for Google’s new payment system.
Google considers this to be the primary reason behind the success of the Apple Store. Apple has been forcing customers to make purchases through its own payment system from day one and hence has seen ever increasing revenues from its App Store. Once developers switch over to the new policy, they are required to pay 30% cut on every product sold. On the flipside, customers will no longer face problems pertaining to purchases under the new one click system.
