Google eyes revenue from Android devices

Pact with Airtel, Vodafone to enable carrier billing on Play Store purchases

Airtel and Vodafone subscribers in India have begun seeing an option to pay for apps, games, books and movies on Google’s Play Store through their carriers, allowing them to buy services on their Android devices without a credit/debit card or net banking.

Combined, the country’s two largest mobile service providers have around 450 million subscribers, giving Google a massive base of customers who will now be able to buy services on its store more easily. The company’s Android operating system powers nine out of 10 smartphones in the country.

Google has not officially announced the launch of carrier billing for Airtel and Vodafone users in the country, but both prepaid and postpaid users have begun seeing the option. Upon initiating a payment however, users are shown an error message suggesting the integration isn’t yet complete. 

“We’re continually looking at ways to enhance user experience, including payment options available on our Play Store,” said a Google spokesperson. 

Google began carrier billing in partnership with Idea Cellular in May last year. The company also introduced the option to pay through net banking late last year as it tried to get more Indians to buy content and services on its Play Store. With carrier billing, Google will be able to tap users without credit/debit cards or those that have them but do not use them to make online purchases.

India’s 250-300-mn strong smartphone user base is predominantly on Android. However, the firm’s earnings from selling apps, books, movies and games still remain minuscule. Google has tried to change this by promoting developers to sell their apps for as low as ~10 in the country. 

Carrier billing will either deduct the amount for an app bought on Google’s Play Store from a user’s currency balance in case of a prepaid connection and add it to their bill for postpaid users. The method will also allow users to navigate the tedious two-factor authentication process that comes along with paying using a card or net banking. While digital payments might have got a recent push, it’s unlikely Google will integrate any third-party wallets into its own store. Globally, the firm has Android Pay, its own digital wallet where users can add credit/debit cards and easily authenticate payments on their smartphones. Google has not indicated if it would bring Android Pay to India anytime soon.