Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are among the top brands whose apps are listed on Indian fintech company PhonePe's Indus Appstore. Indus Appstore is an Android app store launched on Wednesday to challenge Google's monopoly on its biggest user market.
To compete with Google Play Store, PhonePe has provided Indus Appstore with various unique personalized features and developer-friendly conditions. The $12 billion Walmart-backed fintech company says the Indus Appstore supports 12 regional languages (including English) and 24-hour support service.
The app store, which currently features over 200,000 apps across 45 categories including Flipkart, Spotify and Paytm, supports third-party payments and will not collect listing fees for a year. PhonePe will no longer collect fees if developers use third-party payment services or gateways, Sameer Nigam, the company's co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a press conference.
The store, which launched for developers last September, had no Google apps. PhonePe, a leader in the Indian mobile payment market, teeth Indus has partnered with many third-party aggregators to include apps, and many major brands have also registered on the Indus Appstore.
The Indus Appstore has several other localized features, such as app discovery with short videos and the ability to sign in to the store using your mobile number instead of your email address. It also offers “Smart Updates,” which send updates to consumers' phones during times when the phone's data availability is higher.
The Indus Appstore is the latest in a series of attempts by app developers around the world to counter the Google and Apple duopoly in mobile apps and what many say are unfair conditions. The two tech giants are facing growing backlash from app developers around the world over fees charged to their respective app stores. Numerous complaints allege that the companies, which control more than 99% of global consumer spending on mobile apps, are abusing their dominant position to impose exorbitant fees of up to 30% on app transactions. is emerging.
India, the world's largest market by app downloads, has between 750 and 800 million smartphone-connected users. The Indus Appstore exists because, as a nation, “we want to have a perspective on what we can and cannot do,” Nigam said, adding that what the nation consumes can be divided into two companies. argued that it should not be controlled by
“We're going to offer an alternative with a variety of features. Some people will love us, and some people will love us. We just want an opportunity to compete,” he said, noting that competition will force Google to improve its Play Store terms in India.
PhonePe allows consumers to download the app store from its website (users must sideload the app on their Android smartphones). Nigam said the company is in talks with “multiple” mobile phone manufacturers and hopes to close some deals in the coming weeks.
Indus Appstore also “promises” to provide broader transparency, including explaining to developers when their apps are removed and why.
PhonePe plans to monetize the Indus Appstore by charging developers for app discovery and displaying ads, Nigam said.
Ivan Mehta contributed to this report.