It seems like the popularity of Google Wallet hasn’t really picked up at the pace Google expected. Reports now suggests that Google is pushing app developers to use Google Wallet rather than other rival payment alternatives. Google however stated that it’s policy hasn’t changed.
This has been claimed in a recent report by Reuters. According to this report, Google is trying to persuade the app developers as well as mobile game developers to use Google Wallet and prefer it over other alternatives such as PayPal, Boku and others.
In fact, the reports goes on to allege that Google has threatened the developers that if they don’t switch over to Google Wallet as their payment method, their apps may be removed from the Android market. Of course, in such a scenario, an Android developer would definitely want to switch his payment mode rather than being left with no money to pay with.
Now a little perspective on Google’s side of the story. According to the company, it’s policy has always been to require the developers to use its payment service and that some developers had been trying to avoid that in the past. This may be very legitimate only if Google tells the developers pre-handedly and explicitly that they are required to do so. The Android Market Developer Program Policies however speak just of “an authorized Payment Processor” and nothing about Google Wallet.
For the report, Reuters interviewed a number of developers who alleged that Google has forced them to switch to Google Wallet with the threat of removing their apps from Android Market if they refused to do so. Whereas the accounts of these developers sound very convincing, especially coming from Reuters, we will have to just wait and see how Google responds to this accusation at length.
[ttjad]
