Google’s Play Store User Choice Billing makes its way to more countries
For years, companies like Google have relied on their on billing system for app and in-app purchases made within the Play Store, much like how Apple handles it on the App Store, but in recent years, there has been a growing outcry from developers who feel that the 30% cut that companies like Google are taking are simply too much.
Google has finally agreed to give in with its User Choice Billing system that initially debuted in March, and now it looks like the company has since expanded it to more countries after its pilot program which was only available in Australia, India, Indonesia, and Japan.
According to Google, the new markets that will accept User Choice Billing include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
Interestingly enough, the US isn’t included in this new option for now, but presumably it should eventually make its way stateside. Google has also listed requirements that developers will need to meet if they wish to adopt it. Keep in mind that this User Choice Billing still charges developers, but that amount has been reduced by 4%, which honestly isn’t really much and when you combine that with the fees that other payment providers might take, it might end up being more or less the same as before.
Source: 9to5Google