Google will start allowing some applications to directly charge users as an alternative to using Google Pay. The concession from Google comes amid growing antitrust concerns over the app store’s cut.
Google is currently using the new system as an experiment, starting with streaming music giant Spotify. If users choose to pay Spotify directly instead of using Google’s billing system, Spotify won’t have to pay Google the full 15 percent cut, the people said. A Google spokesman said the company has not yet sorted out financial terms.
This is an important milestone and a first for any major app store — whether mobile, desktop or console, Google vice president Sameer Samat wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. Google will share more information in the coming months, it said.