Earlier this year, Google announced a pilot project in which the company could bypass Google Play’s billing system and use its own or third-party payment systems. The pilot project, called User Choice Billing, is currently limited to certain apps, Spotify being one of them.
Now, Spotify and Google announced that User Choice Billing is available for platform users in certain markets and will follow in other regions. Google Play will appear as a new payment option in the music streaming app.
Reported by 9to5Google (11/15), customers using User Choice Billing will benefit from “parental controls, family payment methods, subscription management, Google Play gift cards and Play Points”.
Interestingly, Google will still get a deduction from all transactions that occur through the User Choice Billing payment system. The company reduces payment commissions by 4%, which means developers using third-party payment systems will pay Google an 11% or 26% discount.
Even though Google gets commissions for third-party payment systems, Spotify says the systems are still making progress with “platform fairness and expanded payment options”. The streaming giant called the deal fair, but it’s not yet known if Google is offering any special deals to Spotify.
To note, the User Choice Billing pilot project is running in 35 countries, including Indonesia. Apart from Spotify, several other apps, such as the dating app Bumble, have joined the program.
