In a bold move aimed at challenging the dominance of global tech giants like Google and Apple in the mobile app marketplace, PhonePe, a fintech decacorn backed by Walmart, has unveiled its soon-to-be-launched app store, named Indus. This platform welcomes Android app developers to register and upload their apps, catering to the specific needs and preferences of Indian users.
Unlike Google and Apple, which charge developers fees ranging from 15% to 25% for in-app purchases, as well as other levies for app sales, PhonePe’s Indus Appstore takes a different approach. In its inaugural year, the platform will not impose any listing fees. After this initial period, a nominal annual fee will apply. Additionally, PhonePe is not planning to charge developers platform fees or commissions for in-app payments. Instead, developers will have the freedom to integrate any payment gateway of their choice within their apps.
To further support developers, the platform provides a dedicated section called “Launch Pad” that offers increased visibility and search optimization. Developers also have the option to list their apps in 12 Indian languages.
Akash Dongre, CPO and Co-Founder of Indus Appstore, expressed his optimism about the venture, saying, “India is poised to have over one billion smartphone users by 2026, offering us a massive opportunity to build a new-age, localized Android app store. Despite being such a large consumer market, app developers have always been forced to work with only one app store—Google Play Store—for distributing their apps. We hope to provide app developers with a credible alternative to the Google Play Store—one that is more localized and offers better app discovery and consumer engagement.”
PhonePe’s journey towards establishing Indus was further facilitated by its acquisition of mobile platform OSLabs last year. This acquisition allowed PhonePe to leverage IndusOS’s impressive user base of 100 million and access to 400,000 apps across various categories in 13 languages. IndusOS, founded by IITians Rakesh Deshmukh, Akash Dongre, and Sudhir B in 2015, operates a comprehensive Android app store known as Indus App Bazaar and is supported by the venture capital arm of smartphone giant Samsung.
