JAKARTA - In response to a new law in South Korea, Google has outlined its plans for an alternative in-app billing system for payments.
Both Google and Apple are now under scrutiny of their respective app stores, payment methods, and the inability of third-party developers to offer customers alternative payment options.
In Apple's case, the company previously did not allow third-party payment methods, link to third-party payment methods, or third-party App Stores on iOS.
In comparison, Google is in a more interesting situation. The company already allows the use of third party app stores on its platform which means third party app stores can also offer their own payment systems.
However, Android throws up a lot of errors when trying to install third-party app stores, and strongly recommends users to stick with the default Google Play Store.
That will change, at least in South Korea. According to the press release, Google now allows third-party payment options in addition to Google Play's in-app billing system as default, with users being able to choose between different options at checkout.
Of course, Google warns that using a third-party billing solution, "may not offer the same protection or payment options and features of the Google Play billing system." The warning further cites parental controls, family payment methods, gift cards, and reward points as examples.
Google said today's announcement is just an outline and will have more information to share in the future. It includes more details for users about their options, as well as guidelines and instructions for developers.
Google also said it will reduce in-app billing costs by 4 percent if developers choose to implement a third-party payment system. In most cases, this will reduce costs from 15 percent to 11 percent.
Developers in the Google Media Experience Program will see a drop from 10 percent to 6 percent. The company says these reductions are designed to assist, support and account for any external costs associated with setting up and managing alternative billing systems.
While Google only plans to roll out third-party billing options in South Korea for now, it's possible that the company will make similar decisions in other countries. Unlike Apple, Google adding such an option for a wider audience would make sense considering Android is generally known to be an open platform.
Meanwhile most users will likely stick with Google's built-in system for ease of use, although third-party systems could potentially offer discounts as a result of lower costs.
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