Once Blocked, KakaoTalk Company Chooses To Remove External Payment Methods

JAKARTA - After being blocked by Google, the South Korean messaging application KakaoTalk has finally taken action. Google is known to have made a policy for application developers to use the Google play payment system in applications.

"All developers selling digital goods and services in their apps are required to use Google Play's billing system," Google wrote in a note detailing its new in-app payment policies.

Google also mentions that app developers can follow the applicable policies, and confirms that starting June 1, 2022, any application that does not comply with the applicable regulations will be removed from Google Play.

Because it still uses payments via external links, Google finally decided to block access to KakaoTalk application updates on the play store.

Because the update was blocked in the play store, finally the company took a temporary measure, where when Android users search for KakaoTalk on 'Daum' on their mobile, they will be guided on how to 'download the latest KakaoTalk' without using the play store. However, they can still update their apps through the AppStore and OneStore.

At the time, the company discussed with the South Korean Communications Commission (KCC) and Google to keep using the old payment method. But apparently, they changed their minds.

KakaoTalk told TechCrunch that they decided to remove the external link for the convenience of users. This decision was taken a week after Kakao held discussions with the South Korean Communications Commission (KCC) and Google Thursday, July 7.