PhonePe has launched its Indus Appstore, an Android-based mobile app store. It is PhonePe’s attempt at creating a more competitive and localised mobile app store economy for India. The event was attended by many startup founders and tech industry leaders, the company said in release.
Indus Appstore allows Indian consumers to download over 2 lakh mobile apps and games across 45 categories. Users will be able to discover these apps in 12 Indian languages. The app store also offers a short video-based discovery feature.
Indus Appstore allows app and game developers to choose any 3rd-party payment gateway for in-app billing, and they will not be charged any commission if they use an external payment gateway. Later, Indus will also provide its own in-app billing and catalogue solutions, which will remain optional for app developers. Further, to accelerate developer registrations, Indus offers zero listing fees to developers for one year.
Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe, said, “Indus Appstore challenges the status quo, ushering in an era of more healthy competition in the mobile app marketplace, which in turn should help create a more democratic and vibrant Indian digital ecosystem. Indus Appstore embodies our commitment to building a truly inclusive digital ecosystem where every Indian user feels at home.”