Tech Desk 
Mar 30, 2025
Google has announced a big change for app developers, allowing third-party billing on the Play Store in the United Kingdom and other regions. This means developers can now offer users different ways to pay for digital services instead of only using Google’s billing system.
The new policy, which starts on March 29, is only for non-gaming apps for now.
Google Play Store lowers fees, gives developers more control
Developers on the Google Play Store have been paying a 30% transaction fee on all purchases made via Google's billing system for years.
With this update, developers can now include their own payment methods, which could save them money and bring in more revenue. But Google is still requiring apps to offer its own Play Store billing as an option. The users who opt for other forms of billing can reduce the charge that developers pay.
The move comes after a 2022 probe by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which investigated Google and Apple for potentially being unfair to developers and users through their payment terms.
Moreover, the CMA believed that mandating the use of a single billing system was anti-competitive and reduced consumer choice. Following talks, Google promised to add third-party billing, prompting the CMA to formally end its investigation.
Google has already done so in South Korea, India, and the European Economic Area for regulatory reasons. Currently, the update is limited to non-gaming apps, but there's a hope that gaming apps may follow suit sometime in the future.
