Indus Appstore: PhonePe's Made-In-India Alternative To Google Play Store (Image: X/@IndusAppstore)
Fintech giant PhonePe has introduced Indus Appstore, its Android app marketplace, in India. The Walmart-owned platform”s Indus Appstore is expected to challenge the monopoly of the Google Play Store. PhonePe said that its Android app store, which is currently available on its website, permits consumers in the country to download over 2 lakh mobile apps and games across 45 categories.
The Indus Appstore will be available in English and 12 Indian languages. The app store also offers a brand new short-video-based discovery feature, which is expected to make new app discovery more engaging for consumers. With dubbing themselves a “game-changer in India’s digital journey,” the fintech company is seeking to capitalise on India’s booming app economy. It is worth mentioning that there will be no app listing fees on the platform for the first year, until April 1, 2025.
The main attraction is that the Indus Appstore permits developers to select any 3rd-party payment gateway for in-app billing, and they will not be charged any commission if they use an external payment gateway. This will be a game-changing move compared to the 15–30 percent fee levied by the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Indus Appstore will also deliver its own in-app billing and catalog solutions, which will remain strictly optional for app developers later. PhonePe is trying to capture the market as Apple and Google are facing backlash from developers over higher commission rates.
According to PhonePe, the app store also provides a self-publishing platform, localization services, and multiple tools to monitor and grow their apps. These features come along with dedicated 24×7 customer support. “Indus Appstore challenges the status quo, ushering in an era of more healthy competition in the mobile app marketplace, which in turn should help create a more democratic and vibrant Indian digital ecosystem,” said Sameer Nigam, the CEO and founder of PhonePe, in the statement.
