PhonePe today launched Indus Appstore that aims to create a more competitive and localised mobile app store economy for India, a statement from the company informed.
According to the statement, Indus Appstore allows Indian consumers to download over two lakh mobile apps and games, across 45 categories. Users will be able to discover these apps conveniently in 12 Indian languages, thereby catering to 95 per cent 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.
In a global first move, Indus Appstore allows app and game developers to choose any third-party payment gateway for in-app billing, and they will not be charged any commission if they use an external payment gateway. At a later date, Indus will also provide its own in-app billing and catalog solutions, but these will remain strictly optional for app developers. Further, to accelerate developer registrations, Indus is offering zero listing fees to developers for one year, the statement further added.
Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder, PhonePe, said in the statement, “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 build an inclusive digital ecosystem where every Indian user feels at home.”