PhonePe launches Indus Appstore to rival Google Play Store in India
PhonePe, a Walmart Inc. owned fintech, has launched a mobile application store for consumers in India. The Android-based store is called Indus Appstore, pits the product against Google’s Play Store.
Dubbing themselves as “game-changer in India’s digital journey”, PhonePe’s latest launch comes as a part of their bid to capitalise on growing mobile usage in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
According to the official press statement by PhonePe, Indus Appstore will have more than 200,000 mobile applications and games in 12 Indian languages.
PhonePe has informed that no app listing fees will be charged for one year, until 1 April 2025, for developers.
In a first, the release mentioned, developers can use any third-party payment gateway of their choice.
Indus Appstore allows Indian consumers to download over 2 lakh mobile apps and games, across 45 categories, the official statement read. Users will be able to discover these apps conveniently in 12 Indian languages, thereby catering to 95% of Indians’ language preferences. The app store also offers a brand new short-video based discovery feature, to make new app discovery more engaging for consumers.
“For developers, Indus Appstore provides a fair and level playing field to list, distribute and promote their products in the Indian app ecosystem. It provides a self-publishing platform, localization services, multiple tools to monitor and grow their apps along with a dedicated 24×7 customer support.” the PhonePe release mentioned.
The PhonePe group is also trying to forge partnerships with smartphone makers and expects to be live on most major phone brands by the end of the year, Chief Executive Officer Sameer Nigam told reporters in New Delhi..
PhonePe Group also runs a payments business that competes with Ant Group-backed Paytm and Google’s GPay.
Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder PhonePe said, “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. Indus Appstore embodies our commitment to building a truly inclusive digital ecosystem where every Indian user feels at home.”
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Published: 21 Feb 2024, 08:02 PM IST
Ganesh
http://ganesh@finplay.inFinance enthusiast, Mutual fund expert.