Google is piloting User Preferred Billing to allow app designers and businesses to offer their own customer billing systems on top of Google Play. It allows users to choose the billing system they want to use when making in-app purchases.
The Vice President of Product Management of Google Sameer Samat said in an official blog, “This pilot will allow a small number of participating developers to offer an additional billing option next to Google Play’s billing system and is designed to help us explore ways to offer this choice to users while maintaining our ability to invest in the ecosystem,”
Since this is a pilot program, it will be available to a small number of partaking developers with Spotify as first-timers. It is expected to reach more developers soon.
Google sees the music streaming platform as the first "natural" partner to launch its large customer base initiative. The companies will work together to “innovate in how consumers make in-app purchases, deliver engaging experiences across multiple devices, and bring more consumers to the Android platform.”
Spotify will start providing users with the two billing options later this year as part of its multi-year agreement with Google.
Spotify’s Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström, said in a statement, “We’re excited to be partnering with Google to explore this approach to payment choice and opportunities for developers, users, and the entire internet ecosystem. We hope the work we’ll do together blazes a path that will benefit the rest of the industry.“
(Inputs from various outlets)