Google Play Store adds netbanking as payments option
Purchasing your favorite apps on the Google Play Store has got a lot easier and secure. Google has reportedly added a new payments method to help ease up the process of buying paid content from its Play Store. A ‘Netbanking’ payment option is currently appearing on the Google Play Store for users in India. The option allows a user to pay directly from their bank account without the need for punching in card details.
Google hasn’t yet officially announced the new payment feature because according to its support page, the accepted payment methods do not explicitly describe ‘Netbanking’ as one of the methods one could use to pay for premium Android content. Earlier, the Play Store allowed Indian users to only pay with debit/credit cards or Play Store gift cards. To Idea Cellular users in India, Google also supports carrier billing option. That said, the net banking feature is currently available for both mobile and web versions of Play Store. The feature currently supports a host of Indian banks including prominent banks like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and State Bank of India among others.
In order to enable the netbanking feature, all you need to do is head to your Play Store account settings (web/mobile) and under the Payment Method section click on Add Netbanking followed by adding your address details and bank preference. Once you add your chosen bank and related details, your payment method will be added and the next time you make a purchase, you can choose whether you want to pay through netbanking, through existing methods such as credit/debit cards or redeem gift codes.
Earlier in May, Google had launched a carrier billing option which allows users to make purchases on the Google Play Store and pay through integrated carrier billing instead of using credit cards. Given the low penetration of credit cards in India, this option works best for both prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers. Till now the option had been limited to Idea Cellular subscribers. Months after the partnership with Idea, Google hinted at extending the feature to Airtel and Vodafone subscribers, which are more in number as compared to Idea. The carrier billing option also works the same way as other payment methods. In the add payments section, you need to select ‘bill my Idea Cellular Account’ to get billed for your Play Store purchases in your monthly bills.
Google is constantly tweaking its Play Store to make it more user as well as developer friendly. Recently, the company announced a new feature that would allow developers to offer app subscriptions at a lower price for a set time period before charging the full price. For example, if there is an app subscription that costs Rs 30 per month, developers can offer new subscribers the subscription at an introductory price of Rs 10 for the first few months as required and later ramp it up to the original price.
The company has also redesigned its Play Store to highlight a new Trending section. The new feature makes it easier for users to search for most trending topics and related apps. The new section sits right under the entertainment tab. Tapping on the section displays a page full of news, videos, links to other content, an author description and more.
Google Play Store adds netbanking as payments option
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