India’s largest payment processor removed from Play Store

Paytm, a mobile app used by millions of Indians to pay whatever comes to mind, from utility bills, groceries and more was temporarily removed from the Google Play Store.

Paytm said that Google told the Indian tech firm its app contained “content that doesn’t comply with Google’s gambling policy.” In a separate statement made by Google, they talked about how they don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting.

The app was removed from the Google Play Store last Friday. They had to remove an entire cashback feature that was promoted through a large campaign prompting a statement from the president of Paytm.

“I think we are focused on some of the bigger questions that this raises, which is that effectively, Google has a monopoly on the Android ecosystem in India, which is 95% of phone users. And they can basically decide what policies they want to make and how arbitrarily they want to enforce them,”

“That’s a big sword that is hanging over the necks of all Indian start-ups who are innovating for india. That Google can one day decide that they no longer like your app and effectively remove access to it,”

Paytm is also a completely licensed digital bank. They received approval from the Reserve Bank of India and gave them permission to formally launch Paytm Payments Bank.

Google said in response to Paytm’s president claims: “Offering cashbacks and vouchers alone do not constitute a violation of our Google Play gambling policies.”

“We enforce our policies very thoughtfully to provide a safe and secure experience for consumers, while also giving developers the platform and tools they needed to build sustainable business,”

“In the case of repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating google Play Developer accounts. Our policies are applied and enforced consistently.”

The campaign launched by Paytm that prompted Google’s reaction consisted of users being able to collect cricket stickers and scratch cards to win cashbacks if they made bill payments or transferred money using its app.

What is Paytm?

Paytm is an Indian technology company that focuses on creating online digital banking services. It was launched in 2009, and it has been nothing else but a complete success.

The platform has not only generated an incredibly high amount of revenue, but also given the Indian citizens the opportunity to make transactions online easily and as quickly as it is possible.

What made Paytm so famous in India?

The company and its platform became widely famous and reputable across India thanks to the fact that its invention was one of a kind.

There was no other app or software available to the people like Paytm.

At that time, no one believed that transactions via the web could be real and reliable in any way, so no other company took the risk of innovating and creating a platform such as Paytm.

As the time passed by, the Indian citizens came to the realization that the platform represented the future of banking, so they started giving all their trust to the company and its invention to the point of turning into one of the most successful Indian companies.

Was Paytm part of any scandal before the issue with Google?

Not at all, Paytm has been considered one of the most dedicated and safe banking platforms that exist since the time it got launched.

The news about the removal of the platform from the Google Play Store surely surprised everyone, including Paytm itself, since the company never thought it was doing something against the terms and conditions stated by Google.

The reaction from the Paytm customers

Once the app was removed from the Google Play Store, the customers did not flinch to start discussing the issue all over social media.

They were stunned and worried that their funds were lost or stalled somewhere they were never going to be able to recover them from. But, Paytm was quick to reply and provide comfort for all of them.

After Paytm expressed its point of view, the customers started judging and insulting Google on all the existing platforms so that the global company could respond rapidly.

Google was not happy with the statements made by Paytm

Google representatives stated its disagreement with the words said by Paytm. According to the Search Engine and operating system developer, Paytm was going performing actions against their terms and conditions and so their app had to be removed from the store instantly without further notice.

According to them, Google was never to be blamed for the mistakes and misconduct of Paytm in any way.

Other cases were Google removed apps from the Play Store

Paytm was not the first app to be removed abruptly from the Google Play Store.

There have been plenty of others who, according to Google, have gone against the terms and conditions, and so they must not be available on the Play Store at any moment.

One of the most famous cases is the game Fortnite, developed and launched by Epic Games, this mobile game became one of the most requested and loved titles by the Android Users across the whole globe.

As the game rose to fame so quickly, it started having multiple altercations and issues with Google and its terms and conditions, stating that many of them were absurd and made it impossible for many businesses to reach the desired success.

At the end of it all, the game was removed from the Google Play Store and all the players who had not installed it, were unable to download it and play it on their devices.

Given the mentioned story and the case regarding Paytm, it can be said that Google does not hesitate to impose its authority and power over anyone that is considered to be breaking the rules stated by them at any moment.