Possibly in an attempt to please critics and legislators, Google has kicked off a pilot in which it is allowing a "small number" of developers to offer a payment system in addition to Google's own.
Spotify will be the first app to participate and has even announced a "multiyear agreement" with Google. That means it will offer the Google Play billing system as well as a secondary choice of its own.
"Users who've downloaded Spotify from the Google Play Store will be presented with a choice to pay with either Spotify's payment system or with Google Play Billing", said Spotify in a statement. "For the first time, these two options will live side by side in the app. This will give everyone the freedom to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option of their choice directly in the Spotify app."
Although it's unclear how this will impact the fees Google takes from purchases made in the Spotify app using Google Play, Google said the pilot will help it to understand "whether and how user choice billing works for users in different countries and for developers". Google also said in a statement to the media it aims to have "pilot developers live with user choice billing in 2022 in key markets".
Keep in mind, South Korea passed legislation last year that requires third-party payment systems. In response, Google plans to allow additional billing systems in the country, as will Apple. Both companies have come under fire in recent years for the fees they take from purchases on their platforms and for preventing developers from using third-party in-app payment systems.
In fact, Spotify even filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in 2019. The company took umbrage with the 30 per cent cut Apple takes from subscriptions made via the App Store. And now, it's partnering up with Google and its product and engineering teams to build a new payment experience that will offer users choices. It plans to roll it out in countries around the globe later this year.
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