The company first announced plans to launch third-party billing in March of this year, with Spotify as the initial tester.
Since then, the program has continued to grow. Last month, for example, Google invited other non-gaming developers to apply for the billing program of the user’s choice in select markets, adding India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the European Economic Area (EEA). The company also introduced a similar policy proposal for EEA developers in July, however, the new rules increase the fee reduction from 3% to 4% for developers who opted in. With today’s expansion, billing of the user’s choice will be available in 35 countries globally.
Google says it has been running with Spotify to expand the experience and now the music streaming service will start rolling out the new features in supported markets. the first days of the pilot test.
In addition, Bumble has now teamed up with Google to verify user-chosen billing in its own app, with plans to roll out the features to users in countries in the coming months.
Developers interested in adopting user selection billing adhere to certain UX rules set up through Google that detail how to implement the feature in their apps. Ultimately, these rules require developers to demonstrate a separate data screen and billing selection screen. The data screen is only shown to each user the first time they initiate a purchase, however, the billing selection screen is displayed before each purchase, according to the rules. There are other needs related to when and how to display screens and how the user interface appears.
With the launch, Spotify users on Android will see a new user interface that will let them know how they should pay for their Spotify subscription (see symbol below). For the first time, the two features (Google Play billing and Spotify billing) will appear back and forth. If you select Google Play billing, it will transfer to the normal experience and you can track your subscription in the Google Play Store subscription center. If the user selects Spotify billing, they will continue in the payment procedure and enjoy the Spotify user.
This check will be available first in some markets, then expanded to others in the coming weeks, Spotify says.
Image credit: Spotify
“Spotify has been publicly advocating for platform fairness and expansion of paid features for years. Fair and open platforms enable better, frictionless customer reporting that also allows developers to imagine, innovate and thrive,” a Spotify blog post said.
While the terms and situations offer a 4% reduction in commissions paid to Google when using billing of the user’s choice, Spotify did not comment on its confidential agreement with Google, but notes that it meets the company’s fair standards. It is not known if the streamer will be offered more favorable terms as an early adopter.
The tweaks stick to an era in which major app retailers Apple and Google have come under pressure from lawmakers and regulators in global markets to open up their app ecosystems. This includes lobbying to give developers the ability to use third-party payment systems and allowing developers to notify consumers of chosen payment methods, among other things.
In addition, some developers have started directly suing the app giants. In the United States, for example, Fortnite maker Epic Games sued Apple and Google over their alleged monopolistic practices over their restrictions on in-app bills and for the right to distribute apps. and games directly to kill users outside the official app stores. Dating app giant Match is also suing Google. (Which makes Google’s decision to invite Bumble to the show even more interesting!)
Other corporations have also lobbied lawmakers for more open app stores, organizations like the Coalition for App Fairness, which includes famous developers like Epic Games, Spotify, Tile, and others, adding independent developers.
Google and Apple are also under investigation in the markets, and the Justice Department is set to file an antitrust complaint against Apple and EU antitrust officials investigating the Play Store.
In a blog post, Google says the purpose of its pilot is to “understand the complexities of supporting user choice billing for developers and users in countries around the world while maintaining a positive user experience. “The company has not yet said when it expects the pilot check to end.