Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Tinder-owner Match says Google to allow alternate payment systems for now

Published 2022-05-20, 08:03 a/m
Updated 2022-05-20, 12:23 p/m
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Match Group logo and their app brands are seen in this illustration taken, May 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Match Group logo and their app brands are seen in this illustration taken, May 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) -Match Group Inc said on Friday that Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc's Google will temporarily allow the dating apps maker to offer users a choice in payment systems.

Match sued Google earlier in May, calling the action a "last resort" to prevent Tinder and its other apps from being booted off the Google Play store for refusing to share up to 30% of sales.

The date for the trial is currently set for April 2023.

The company said on Friday it has withdrawn its request for a temporary restraining order against Google after it made a number of concessions that would prevent Match's apps from being removed from the Play store for offering alternate payment options.

Match will have to continue to integrate Google Play billing through the trial or until the dispute is settled, Google said.

Match's lawsuit came against the backdrop of ongoing cases brought by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games, dozens of U.S. state attorneys general and others in targeting Google's allegedly anticompetitive conduct related to the Play store.

Google had said it will block downloads of some of Match's apps by June 1 unless they solely offered Google's payment system and shared revenue, the lawsuit stated.

The majority of users on Match's most popular app, Tinder, prefer its payment system, which allows for installment plans, bank transfers and other features not provided by Google, according to the lawsuit.

Match said on Friday it plans to put up to $40 million into an escrow account, instead of paying Google directly for billing transactions on the Android operating system outside of Google Play store billing, as part of the temporary agreement.

Match has raised concerns over Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s App Store fees and payments policies as well.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Match Group logo and their app brands are seen in this illustration taken, May 1, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Apple has also been criticized for building its App Store into a "walled garden" meant to extract fees from developers who want to access users on the iOS ecosystem.

Google and Apple charge developers hefty commissions and impose controls on software developers, forcing them to pay a sum when the in-app payment systems are used.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.