As local developers study Google Play policies in anticipation of the release of their app there’s a time that they realise that following the rules by the book may not necessarily benefit them or end-users.
According to Google Play Store policy, developers should not allow users to purchase anything via any payment platform that is not supported by Google (e.g EcoCash, OneMoney). It seems local developers are in violation of these rules.
Apps such as Pass Grade 7 and Vashona are educational tools that offer in-app purchases via Telecash and EcoCash to activate full features. Road Rules is another example of an app that is in violation of Google Play’s code of conduct.
What are Google’s requirements when it comes to payments?
Obviously, the developers themselves know what they are supposed to do but let us shed light on how the payment system works in order to see why local developers have shunned it.
Google clearly outlines the requirements that apps containing payment options have to meet. The requirements are split between In-store purchases and In-app purchases. For In-store purchases, developers that charge for app or downloads from the Play store must use Google Play’s payment system.
For In-app purchases, the requirements are not as straightforward and Google provides a bit more context around how payments are made.
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Developers offering products within a game downloaded on Google Play or providing access to in-game content must use Google Play In-app Billing as the method of payment.
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Developers offering products within another category of app downloaded on Google Play must use Google Play In-App Billing as the method of payment, except for the following cases:
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Payment is solely for physical products
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Payment is for digital content that may be consumed outside of the app itself (e.g. songs that can be played on other music players).
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Applications such as Road Rules enable you to make In-App purchases through EcoCash and other local payment platforms that are not in appliance with Google’s In-app billing.
Why does Google insist Developers use their payment platform
If I had to answer the above question in one word that word would be ACCOUNTABILITY! If payments are made through Google payment platform it is easy to get a return if the quality of the app is not impressive enough for a user.
Google’s payment platform also offers a convenience not offered through most other payment services. If you make an in-app purchase using Google’s system and then you switch your phone two years from now and re-download an application all the features you bought the last time will still be available. This, of course, is the case if you are using the same E-mail as you did when you made the purchase since this is what is linked to your Play Store account. Every time you make a purchase through the authorised payment platforms you also get an Email confirming the purchase. These emails can be used to communicate with developers in the event of your purchases not being restored.
Let’s say we have the exact same transaction but this time you pay through EcoCash. When you switch your device you will not be able to restore prior made purchases. I’m willing to bet that if you failed to produce the proof of payment (which you may not have access to if you have switched phones) the developers would not grant you access to that feature. It is a business after all so it would be naïve of them to enable features just because someone claims to have paid several months ago.
The developer’s side of the story…
Yes, we have talked about the law of Google’s land but at the end of the day, the fact that developers are overlooking Google’s payment platform does not make them renegades or swashbuckling pirates who have no regard for the law. This is not the case at all.
Local developers are just trying to give their users payment platforms that they can actually access in order to unlock features in their apps. We all understand how difficult it is for sons/daughters to transact internationally and honestly I do not think there is a single person who would go to the bank and prefund their account with the rare USD’s just to make an in-app purchase. If you have made such a journey please make sure to give a shout-out to the app that made you part with your precious forex in the comments below, I would love to see this app for myself. Because of this, it is better to offer a payment option that incorporates mobile money platforms or Zipit as the target audience is more likely to make the purchase through these
Secondly, because developers create content that is mostly (if not entirely) consumed locally it means in-app purchases are made by a select few and I do not think it would be worth incurring the charges they would have to face to be able to get that money in Zimbabwe.
For local developers, it’s all about striking a balance between usability and harvesting the fruits of their labour. Personally, I don’t think it’s much of a big deal that they are bypassing Google’s payment platform as they are doing it out of necessity, not to prove how hard headed they are.
15 comments
For the Road Rules App, it was really out of necessity and market understanding. The majority of our target market do not have visa cards that are required for them to make the payment using the Google Pay system.
Ecocash reportedly has 95% mobile money market share and it only made sense for us to use that as the default payment method.
Yes yes..Bla bla bla.. But you are still in violation my Friend.
We have not denied being in violation neither do we justify ourselves.
We have not denied being in violation neither do we justify ourselves.
As a developer I also feel your pain.You do understand though that if Google picks it up, your App will be banned from Google Play and you also risk getting your developer account banned for life.
Business decision or not, you could lose everything you have worked on. I have seen developers lose thousands of dollars for such violations.
And trust me, Google will find out some day.
Hey Van Lee, yeah man it’s a hassle but we are left with very limited options. I’m aware of the potential repercussions and have a plan to deal with them when the time comes.
Plan B. I like that
Google’s retribution has no plan Bs. You get banned you go.
And for a clear violation, you don’t negotiate. I mean, this is gogle after all.
Plan B?
My friend, there’s no plan B. Once Google Bans you, you are screwed.
Worse off, yours is a clear violation and you can’t negotiate.
Losing your 20K+ downloads is not worth the risk.
For mine, I use Admob + Donations for Zimbabwe based apps.
My company and account was registered in America by an American for Paid in-app purchases.
I calculated and for me, i have over 20 apps. I’m not risking that just to make a quick buck in Zimbabwe.
Google developer stories on being banned from Google. You don’t recover from that.
(my previous comment vanished)
As a developer I feel your pain. But you do realise that your entire start-up is based on this app and when Google picks it up (trust me, they will) you’ll have your app bannr from Google Play.
You also risk your account getting banned also.
I have seen people lose tens of thousands of dollars for violating Google Play Policies. You need to look at this and adjust for the sake of survival.
Worse off, you are stealing from the very hand that is feeding you. Just give Google their 30%.
For us it’s not that we do not want to give them their 30%, we would gladly do that had the system allowed us to. At the moment the only way to do that would be to integrate Google Pay which require the user to have a compliant visa card of which the majority of our target market don’t have those due to the prevailing economic situation in the country.
Say what! Uncle Google takes 30%? That’s stealing in broad daylight. Where’s the tarrifs commission?
In as much as *accountability* is your presumption for Google requiring developers to use it’s platform. Most in-app purchases, such as feature upgrades, are non-refundable. More likely than not, Google wants the commission collected on earned revenue. That is why in-app purchases are for non-tangible digital products which, by their nature, can be replicated infinitely without a significant overhead.
Google Play violations aside, when using a external payments provider, a correctly developed app can pick up if it was previously “activated” or “registered”. Failure of existing apps to do so, is a development issue.
Well put. From the server side we can easily tell if a user is a paid up user.
Better days are coming keep developing the apps.