UK regulator 'pleased' Google offering developers different payment systems after probe
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The U.K.'s regulator said on Wednesday it was "pleased" Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is going to open up third-party payment systems to developers, but that it wanted to make sure the system worked in practice.
"While weâre pleased our investigation has resulted in Google offering to give in-app payment freedom to thousands of app developers, we need to make sure these commitments will work in practice â so we welcome all feedback, which we will carefully consider before making a final decision," Ann Pope, Senior Director of Antitrust at the Competition and Markets Authority, said in a statement.
The CMA is looking for comments on the matter before May 19 when it is slated to make a final decision.
Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) shares were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday.
In June 2022, the CMA said Google's (GOOG) (GOOGL) control over in-app payments from its Google Play billing system restricted developer choice and hurt competition.
In a blog post, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) said it made the move after working with the regulator.
"Under the commitments, developers will be able to add an alternative in-app billing system, alongside Google Playâs billing system, for their mobile and tablet users in the U.K," Google wrote. "At checkout, users will be able to choose which billing system to use. These options will be presented in a neutral manner allowing users to make an informed and engaged choice."
Google added that when a user selects alternative billing, it will reduce the developer's service fee by 4%, and if they choose not to offer Google Play billing at all, the service fee will drop 3%.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is planning to unveil a foldable phone at its annual I/O developer conference in May.