Google will let non-gaming Android apps provide alternative billing systems for IAP, reducing Google's Play Store cut by 3%, in the European Economic Area
‘reduced by 3%’ — that both Apple and Google have colluded on, to fool news outlets Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : Congratulations to Google, fast-following Apple to introduce fake open billing in Europe - “allowing” competing payment services but eliminating their ability to compete by demanding 27% of revenue. https://twitter.com/... @thomasbcn : @kifleswing Besides practicality, with the threat being 99+% of cases more than the controls, would this even be compliant with the EU law? Sounds abusive Kif / @kifleswing : @Thomasbcn I'm not caught up on what DMA requires yet, but Tim Cook said at the Epic trial: “It seems like a process that doesn't need to exist.” @thomasbcn : How do Apple & Google intend to enforce the alternative in-app billing fee? Kif / @kifleswing : @Thomasbcn Apple reserves the right to audit and requests monthly spreadsheets with total app sales in Korea. Dean Takahashi / @deantak : OK, we have special deals for Europeans and non-gamers. Google introduces new in-app purchase policy for European (EEA) users. https://techcrunch.com/... Jens-Fabian Goetzmann / @mrjefago : In a completely expected response to the EU Digital Markets Act, Google is allowing non-gaming apps to use external payment providers in-app... for a 3% reduced commission. In other words: more friction than in-app purchases, no increased margin. https://techcrunch.com/... Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : The result? Inflated in-app purchases funding Google's monopoly rent. Google has a long history of fake open initiatives, starting with Android “allowing” competing stores then obstructing them through technical measures and a store cartel they forced carriers and OEMs to join. Tim Sweeney / @timsweeneyepic : The most bizarre thing about Google flauting the new EU law here by introducing fake “payment competition” is that they're NOT EVEN PRETENDING to comply with the law with respect to games, where they still demand their monopoly payment method be used exclusively. Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : Google and Apple “generously” allowing apps to use alternative payment systems but only dropping their cut from 30% to 27% (leaving apps with no gain since Stripe charges 2.9%) is the most cynical move in big tech since Apple pulled the ATT privacy scam. https://techcrunch.com/... @googleeurope : This is why today, as part of our compliance efforts, we have announced a new billing programme which will allow developers to offer alternatives to Google Play's billing system to users in the EEA. You can read more here. https://blog.google/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already adopted alternative billing in South Korea under a new law, making the EEA programme a second regional response rather than a one-off concession. The earlier South Korean alternative-billing move established the policy direction.
The EEA rollout also became a template for broader availability: Google later extended third-party billing to additional markets and proposed alternate-payment terms in a UK antitrust settlement process.
First-order effects
- Non-gaming Android developers in the EEA can present an alternative in-app billing option, while Google lowers its Play Store service fee by three percentage points for transactions using it.
- Google retains a reduced fee on purchases that move through the new billing programme, rather than fully relinquishing its role in Android app payments.
Second-order effects
- Payment providers gain access to EEA in-app transactions, but their economics must fit within the fee Google continues to collect.
- Developers evaluating outside billing must weigh the three-point fee reduction against the operational cost of adding and managing another payment system.
Third-order effects
- Google’s regional programmes point toward regulated platform payments evolving from mandatory proprietary checkout to controlled choice, with platform fees persisting as the central policy dispute.
- As authorities scrutinize these arrangements, the practical contest shifts from whether alternative billing exists to whether its remaining platform charge leaves meaningful room for payment competition.
The trend: App-store regulation is pushing Google toward region-specific alternative-billing programmes that preserve a platform take rate while opening limited payment choice.