PhonePe launches Indus Appstore to challenge Google Play in India
The Indus Appstore Developer Platform, which was unveiled on Saturday, offers free registration and upload of apps for the first year
Bengaluru-based digital payments company PhonePe has launched its own app store platform to attract Android developers in India.
The Indus Appstore Developer Platform, which was unveiled on Saturday, offers free registration and upload of apps for the first year, no platform fee and no commission on in-app purchases, possibly making it a more appealing option than Google’s Play Store.
The app store also supports many features that are relevant to the local market, such as third-party payment providers, 12 Indian languages, and a phone number-based login system.
Meanwhile, for developers, the app store supports a targeted release management feature allowing developers to roll out app updates to relevant user cohorts.
Developers can also monitor app vitals with AI-powered tools during an app version launch.
The Indus Appstore Developer Platform comes at a time when Google’s policies and practices have faced criticism from many Indian businesses and startups, especially its 15-30% cut on in-app purchases.
Despite being such a large market, Google’s Play Store continues to dominate most users’ smartphones.
Companies like PhonePe and Paytm are therefore attempting to provide alternatives.
PhonePe said it has teamed up with several phone manufacturers to distribute the app store.
The startup also said it has established an India-based team to offer support to developers, addressing the issues of local developers who have been unhappy with Google’s delayed responses and US time zone operating hours.
PhonePe, which has over 450 million registered users on its payments app and has raised $850 million in recent quarters, said it sees the app store as a key strategic move to empower the Indian developer community and create a more fair and competitive digital ecosystem.
The digital payments company has been expanding its operations over the past few years. Currently valued at $12 billion, the startup recently launched a new e-commerce app followed by Share.Market, a simplified investing app for stocks, WealthBaskets, and ETFs.
