New Delhi: Digital payments firm Paytm Monday announced the launch of an ‘Android mini-app store’ to help Indian developers market their apps, and in a possible attempt to fight Google’s dominance in the arena.
The ‘mini-apps’ would help “citizens to save their limited data and phone memory”, Paytm said in a press release. According to the firm, mini-apps are mobile websites that can give users an app-like experience without actually downloading it.
On the launch of the store, Paytm’s Founder-CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “I am proud that we are today launching something that creates an opportunity for every Indian app developer. Paytm Mini App Store empowers our young Indian developers to leverage our reach and payments to build new innovative services.”
Reuters reported last week that Paytm and other Indian startups were looking to challenge Google’s local dominance of key apps in Android phones.
This was after Google announced a new policy on 28 September under which it will take a 30 per cent cut from purchases users make inside an app listed on the Google Play Store.
In a blog post Monday, Google however said the deadline to comply with the billing system has been extended to 31 March 2022 for app developers in India — originally, the deadline worldwide was 30 September 2021.
According to the Reuters report, Sharma had described Google as the “big daddy” controlling the “oxygen supply of (app) distribution” on Android phones, in a video conference with 50 other executives.
Paytm is listing and distributing these mini-apps within its app “without any charges”. “For payments, developers will be able to give a choice of Paytm Wallet, Paytm Payments Bank, UPI, net-banking and Cards to their users,” it said.
Over 300 businesses such as Decathalon, Ola, Park+, Rapido, Netmeds, 1MG, Domino’s Pizza, FreshMenu, NoBroker are on the Paytm Mini App Store already.
Paytm said the app store has been in testing mode with select users and registered over 12 million visits in September.
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Google delays new payment policy in India
Indian startups have been trying to challenge Google’s dominance as the primary marketplace for Android apps after the latter announced its new policy saying it will take a 30 per cent cut from in-app purchases. The policy is yet to be enforced.
In its defence, Google said in its blog post 97 per cent of the apps worldwide complied with the policy, but noted that it has had “some additional questions from the community in India”.
Stating that the deadline to comply with the new billing system has been extended to 31 March 2022 for app developers in India, the Google post said, “We are setting up listening sessions with leading Indian startups to understand their concerns more deeply.”
It said the deadline is being expended for developers in India “to integrate with the Play billing system, to ensure they have enough time to implement the UPI for subscription payment option that will be made available on Google Play.”
On 18 September, Paytm was removed from Google Play Store for a few hours for violating its policy that forbid promoting gambling activities. Paytm had promoted a fantasy sports app, just ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL)
In a blog post then, Google had said it does not allow apps facilitating sports betting and will remove such apps from its store.
Disclosure: Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma is among the distinguished founder-investors of ThePrint. Please click here for details on investors.
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