Thursday, March 24, 2022 3:02 pm6 Comments

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The decision by Alphabet subsidiary Google to allow alternative payment systems on its Google Play store will put pressure on Apple to enact a similar change to its App Store, some Wall Street analysts say.

Patrick Seitz for Investor’s Business Daily:

Google announced the move late Wednesday, saying it wanted to give consumers a choice for in-app payments. It recently launched an alternative billing system in South Korea in response to a new law there. Now it is exploring “user choice billing” in other select countries, said Sameer Samat, Google vice president of product management for Android and Google Play, in a blog post.

Google has begun a pilot program that will allow a small number of participating developers to offer an additional billing option next to Google Play’s billing system. Google selected streaming music leader Spotify (SPOT) as its first developer partner in the program.

“This pilot puts even more pressure on Apple to open up their App Store to alternative payment systems,” Deutsche Bank analyst Benjamin Black said in a note to clients.

Apple’s most likely move will be to remove the so-called anti-steering provisions in its App Store. Those provisions prevent app developers from communicating other payment methods to app users.

MacDailyNews Take: If Apple decides to go the legal route, the molasses-like system works to the company’s advantage, as it’ll be forever and a day before Apple would, if ever, be forced to make any significant alterations to its safe and secure Apple Store walled garden.

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