1.7 C
London
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
HomeNewsIndia NewsIndian regulator probes Google's payment app

Indian regulator probes Google’s payment app

Date:

Related stories

Nita on opening of West End blockbuster ‘Mamma Mia’

Nita Ambani, the founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation,...

The Bhavan UK celebrates Diwali

The Bhavan hosted its annual Diwali Gala on November...

Eligible parents can apply for free childcare from January

PEOPLE can apply for the free childcare scheme for...

Landlords of London flat in fire tragedy plead guilty to criminal charges

During a brief hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court in...

“Every moment felt that death was standing nearby,” say rescued workers

AFTER 17 days trapped inside a collapsed Himalayan road...

India’s anti-trust watchdog has ordered a probe into Google’s payments app over allegations the tech giant is abusing its market dominance.

The Competition Commission of India said it was investigating allegations the California-based company “rigged” featured app lists to include Google Pay, “demonstrating clear bias”.

The ombudsman is also looking into a Google plan — to start from March 2022 — that requires some developers to pay a 30 percent commission on in-app purchases.

The move has sparked an outcry in India.

The case was filed by an anonymous complainant, the commission said, adding that its investigations unit would submit a report within 60 days.

Google has denied the allegations, and in a statement said its payments app was successful because it offers consumers a “simple and secure” experience.

Google Pay uses India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which manages payment apps with over 140 Indian banks that are part of the network.

UPI is also used by Walmart’s PhonePe and the Alibaba-backed Paytm. The three dominate India’s digital payments market.

UPI processed nearly 11 billion transactions in 2019, with a monthly rate of $31 billion in February leading to an annualised payment value of $373 billion this year, according to S&P Global.

Google’s Android mobile operating system is by far the dominant player in India, supporting 99 percent of all smartphones, according to the research agency Counterpoint.

Analysts have said having such a widely used operating system could make it easier for Google to control the market, a claim the Silicon Valley firm denies.

(AFP)

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories