PhonePe, the widely recognized digital payment app backed by Walmart, has unveiled its very own App Store, known as the ‘Indus Appstore.’ This strategic move is set to disrupt Google’s dominant position in the Android mobile app distribution market through its Play Store.
One of the primary incentives for Android developers to opt for the Indus Appstore is the promise of zero commissions on in-app sales and app purchases. In stark contrast, Google and Apple impose commissions ranging from 15% to 30% on all in-app transactions and app sales by developers.
PhonePe further sweetens the deal by waiving listing fees for app developers during the first year, with plans to introduce a “nominal” fee afterward. Moreover, PhonePe emphasizes developer freedom, stating that “Developers will be free to integrate any payment gateway of their choice inside their own apps.” Developers can start uploading their apps to the platform immediately.
In an effort to cater to the Indian market more effectively, the Indus Appstore will support 12 Indian languages and offer a phone number-based login system for user convenience.
Akash Dongre, CPO and Co-Founder of Indus Appstore, expressed the significance of this launch, saying, “India is poised to have over 1 billion smartphone users by 2026, offering us a massive opportunity to build a new-age, localized Android app store. Despite being such a large consumer market, app developers have always been forced to work with only one app store – Google Playstore – for distributing their apps.”
He added, “Indus Appstore hopes to provide app developers a credible alternative to the Google Playstore – one that is more localized and offers better app discovery and consumer engagement. We are excited to open up the Indus Appstore Developer Platform today and invite all developers to list their app on the Made-in-India app store.”
Additionally, the Indus App Store offers several benefits, including AI-powered real-time monitoring of app performance during new version launches, real-time analytics, in-depth insights into industry trends, and competitor analysis, all aimed at helping developers adopt best practices.