If you’re distributing an app through the Google Play Store that has in-app purchases, best believe that Google will take a cut out of your earnings. The software giant keeps 30 percent of all in-app transactions conducted through the Play Store. However, some companies have been trying to work around it and Match Group, Tinder’s parent company, is one of them.
Bloomberg reports that in a bid to avoid paying Google a 30 percent cut on the in-app purchases for its subscriptions like Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold, Match Group will encourage users to enter their credit card details directly into Tinder’s systems. This is something we have seen Epic Games, Fortnite’s developer, do as well. It launched Fortnite for Android through its own downloadable launcher to avoid paying Google a 30 percent cut.
The report mentions that once users enter their credit card details into Tinder’s systems, the app will default to that payment method for all in-app purchases which would allow Tinder to by-pass the Play Store-backed transactions and thus will not have to pay Google a cut.
“At Match Group, we constantly test new updates and features to offer convenience, control and choice to our users,” Match Group spokesperson Justine Sacco said, adding that “We will always try to provide options that benefit their experience and offering payment options is one example of this.”