In an effort to compete with Google and Apple, the digital payments company PhonePe on Saturday announced the launch of the Indus Appstore Developer Platform and invited other Android developers to use it.
For the first year, the Bengaluru-based company’s development platform will be free for developers; thereafter, a small annual fee would be charged. The app store will not impose any platform fees or commissions on developers for in-app purchases. Any payment gateway can be integrated by developers into their own apps.
In contrast, regulators around the world have criticised Google and Apple’s app stores for charging a 30% fee for in-app sales and for limiting developers’ options for payment processing methods.
According to Akash Dongre, chief product officer of Indus Appstore, “India is poised to have over one billion smartphone users by 2026, offering us a massive opportunity to build a new-age, localised Android app store.” “Despite having such a sizable consumer market, app developers have always been compelled to distribute their apps through Google PlayStore, the sole available app store. A more localised alternative to the Google PlayStore that enables better app discovery and user engagement is what Indus Appstore aims to offer app developers.
Dongre was also a founding member of the IndusOS company, which PhonePe purchased last year.
According to PhonePe, the Indus Appstore will include a special section called “Launch Pad” to give new apps better visibility and search engine optimization.
The platform will also include a number of developer tools and features to solve issues that the majority of Android developers face, including the opportunity to list their app in 12 Indian languages in addition to English and a dedicated round-the-clock customer support team based in India, the business said.
After reaching a resolution with the company’s largest shareholder Affle Global, PhonePe announced in July of last year that it had finished the acquisition of the parent company of software store Indus OS, OSLabs.
Even as a senior judge at the Singapore High Court dismissed at least two appeals filed by Affle, which contested PhonePe’s acquisition of OSLabs after a term sheet for the transaction was signed, ET was the first to report on the legal dispute between Affle Global and PhonePe.
Before, PhonePe, which is owned by Walmart, dabbled in stockbroking. Share.Market, an app that lets users open trading accounts and invest in equities, mutual funds, and exchange traded funds (ETFs), was introduced by the company.
Additionally, a top official from PhonePe said that the company, which is currently the most valuable fintech company in India, expects to turn a profit by 2025. The founder and CEO of PhonePe, Sameer Nigam, told PTI that before the company becomes operationally viable at the group level, its payment, advertising, banking, and insurance operations would break even.
