PhonePe Launches Indus Appstore to Challenge Google Play and Apple’s App Store Dominance

• ByStartupStory     |    February 22, 2024

Fintech major PhonePe has unveiled its homegrown Indus Appstore, positioning itself as a robust competitor against global giants like Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. The initiative aims to foster healthy competition and create a more vibrant Indian digital ecosystem.

PhonePe’s CEO and founder, Sameer Nigam, expressed the significance of the Indus Appstore, stating, “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.”

The Indus Appstore takes a novel approach by providing a level playing field for Indian app developers. Developers are granted the freedom to choose any third-party payment gateway for in-app billing, and they will not face any commission charges for utilizing external payment gateways. To encourage early developer registrations, the app store offers zero listing fees until April 1, 2025, after which a fee will be introduced.

Nigam shared insights into the revenue model, stating, “For paid app downloads, we haven’t come up with a payment structure. But it will not be in the double digits, for sure. It’ll be low single digits. We plan to make most of the money from advertising since the primary objective of the store is to drive discovery and downloads of apps.”

The move by PhonePe follows its 2022 acquisition of Indus OS, an independent player in the alternative app store space. It also comes amid a growing conflict between Indian app developers and tech giant Google over alleged monopolistic practices and high commission rates.

Highlighting the essence of the Indus Appstore, Nigam emphasized, “This is not about trust. This is fundamentally about the freedom to innovate in the sector… There are 750-800 million smartphone users in India with data. That’s a very large population for just one or two companies alone. We are offering an alternative with a different set of features and capabilities.”

Indus Appstore currently boasts over 200,000 mobile apps and games across 45 categories, available for download in 12 Indian languages. Notably, users can register using just their mobile numbers, bypassing the need for an email ID. The app store also introduces a short-video based discovery feature to enhance app discovery for consumers.

In addressing security concerns, the company assured users of rigorous checks, with all apps scanned before listing and after every update. A Know Your Customer (KYC) process for developers is also being implemented to combat fraudulent apps and viruses.

PhonePe has already secured partnerships with OEMs like Nokia and Lava to integrate the Indus Appstore into their devices, marking a significant step in expanding its reach within the Indian market.

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