Breaking: Paytm, India's financial services app has been taken off from Google Play Store after repeated policy violations. 'Play Store prohibits online casinos and other unregulated gambling apps. Paytm, India's dominant digital payments startup, accused Alphabet Inc.' S Google of violating competition rules after it removed the rival's app from its Play Store on Friday for allegedly.
- Google removed the Paytm app from the Play Store earlier in the day.
- It’s one of the largest mobile payment platforms in India.
- Paytm claims Google’s flouted competition rules.
Update: September 18, 2020 (11:30 AM ET): The main Paytm payments app is now back on the Google Play Store. However, the Paytm First Games app is still down. One97 Communications — the company that owns Paytm — has now hit back at Google. It claims (via Bloomberg) that Google violated competition rules by removing Paytm from the Play Store.
“They have all the levers and can decide which app can be brought down and when. How is that not a problem?” Madhur Deora, President, One97 Communications told Bloomberg. “You’ve got a player which regulates India’s digital ecosystem while competing with many companies in the same ecosystem,” he added.
Original article: September 18, 2020 (5:58 AM ET): Google has pulled the Paytm app from the Play Store citing policy violations. The mobile payments app can no longer be downloaded from the Google Play Store, but if you already have it, it should work just fine.
Paytm is one of India’s most popular, if not the biggest, online payments and money transfer platforms. According to its data, the Paytm app has over 200 million active users, eclipsing the user base of competitors like Google Pay and PhonePe. It’s also the most valued Indian startup with names like Softbank, Berkshire Hathaway, SAIF Partners, and others backing it.
In a blog post released today, Google said that it doesn’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. “This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies,” the company noted.
The reason for Paytm’s removal?
The Paytm app repeatedly violated these policies, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The trouble started after Paytm launched a Cricket League Contest on its app that allowed users to win stickers and then exchange them for cash. Even though Google’s own payments app runs similar scratch-and-win promotions, the Paytm app was found to be violating Play Store policies and was booted from it alongside the Paytm First Games app.
Google Play Store Download
Google warned in its blog post that “in the case where there are repeated policy violations, we [Google] may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts.”
Paytm, meanwhile, has promised that its app will be back very soon. In a tweet, the company assured that “all your money is completely safe and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal.”
Google has also reportedly asked Disney Plus Hotstar to display a warning before running ads for fantasy sports apps.
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Hours after being taken down by Google from Play Store, the search engine giant has restored Paytm on Play Store. Paytm's founder - Vijay Shekhar Sharma through a tweet announced that the app is live on Google Play Store and was taken down because they launched a UPI cashback campaign.
Google on Friday took down one of the most used online payment apps Paytm from the Google Play Store. This meant, android smartphone users were not able to download or install the app for the time being. Google has also taken down PaytmFirstGames from the app store. The company has recently roped in Sachin Tendulkar as its ambassador.
Other Paytm apps such as Paytm For Business, Paytm Money and Paytm Mall are still available on the Play Store.
Paytm through its official Twitter handle had earlier said that the app will be back very soon.
“All your money is completely safe, and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal,” the company tweeted.
Paytm In Google Play Store Account
In a blog the company wrote: 'We recently launched the ‘Paytm Cricket League’ on our consumer app for users to engage in their passion of cricket and get cashback. The game allows users to get player stickers after each transaction, collect them and receive Paytm Cashback.
Today afternoon, we received communication from Google that they are suspending our app because they believe this to be a violation of their Play Store policies on gambling. The Paytm Android app has thus been unlisted from Google’s Play Store and is temporarily unavailable to users for new downloads or updates.'
The company had said that it has temporarily removed the cashback component in an effort to meet the Play Store policy requirements.
Meanwhile, Google’s vice-president of product, Android security and privacy, Suzanne Frey in a blog dated September 18 wrote: “We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies.”
She further wrote that if an app violates their security policies then Google notifies the developer team and then removes the app from Google Play Store until the developer brings the app into compliances.
She said that if an app repeatedly violates Google’s policy, then Google can take serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts.
The blog did not, however, named Paytm.According to reports, Google has dropped more apps from the Play Store.
Akash Karmakar, partner, Law Offices of Panag & Babu said, 'While PayTM did not directly engage in, or promote sports betting or gambling, it did have links to third-party sites which did. The ease of using PayTM on these third-party apps may have been viewed by Google as the element which makes PayTM as supporting these sites. Google appears to have taken an ethical stand against apps which promote or even advertise unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting. Since many other apps are also promoting betting and gambling websites through ads and pop-ups, if Google applies the same standard, I would expect more apps will get taken off the Play Store.'