Google Play Store to charge developers: takes 20% cut

September 21 message, according to foreign media reports, Google plans to start charging for the applications in Apps Marketplace app store in the coming months. Currently developers can obtain all of the income from their app sales.

Google said it plans to charge developers 20% of the app sales revenue. The company launched Apps Marketplace app store six months ago. However, Google's billing API (application programming interface) is not ready yet.

The company said on Thursday that Google plans to release an API based on the Google Checkout electronic payment system to developers in the last quarter of this year, and then promote it to overseas markets. The company said that three months after Google releases the API in a country, developers in that country will have to pay the fee.

Chuck Dietrich, CEO of Apps Marketplace supplier SlideRocket, said that Google's Checkout API needs to adapt to SaaS service providers and offer them a variety of payment methods to support their sale of cloud computing applications. He said, "It is difficult to integrate the billing function because most companies like SlideRocket need to consider how to package, price, and charge for services."

Google had previously stated that it hopes to charge developers 20% of their Apps Marketplace sales revenue. For example, if a customer uses the free version and then upgrades to the paid version, the supplier should pay Google. Regardless of when the customer starts paying, the supplier should pay Google.

Chuck Dietrich said, "My wish and expectation are also Google's ambition, that Google's billing system can handle changes. If not, developers need to repackage, reprice, and resell based on the limitations of the payment system."

Chuck Dietrich believes that a 20% charge is a good deal because Google's platform connects millions of users and can help developers find buyers. He said, "Considering the cost of sales, this is a huge opportunity for SlideRocket and other developers."

In addition to being an electronic store, Apps Marketplace is also a technical platform that integrates developers' apps with Google Apps application packages.