One of the hottest topics that has affected Apple and Google the most for quite some time now is the theme payment systems used by users of their operating systems for iOS/ipadOS and Android devices. And it is so, as you well know, currently both stores, the App Store and Google Play, force users to go through their payment systems (with a corresponding commission) to those users who want to contract these services directly from the applications.

We can say this without fear of being wrong this model is living its last days. Of course, we cannot know how long it will last, but the pressure from the regulators is increasing every day. We recently saw how Apple had to back down in this regard in the Netherlands and earlier, earlier in the year, how it had to do the same in South Korea. This is just the beginning, as the scope of these promotions is limited, and in addition, Apple reserves the right to continue charging a commission even if its payment system is not used, but this will be further developed in the future.

Google’s situation is somewhat less complicated because, unlike iOS, Android is yes, it allows installation of alternative stores, as well as applications downloaded directly from the Internet without having to go through Apple Play or other stores. But even so, it also retains the prerogative of not allowing other payment methods in apps downloaded from its store, which is why it excluded Fortnite from it at the same time as Apple did.

However, that seems to be about to change. And as the streaming music service announced, Google and Spotify already offer UCB (User Choice Billing) on ​​Android. At the moment, this feature is only available in some markets as it is in the testing phase, but as we can read in the mentioned publication, its scope will be expanded in the coming weeks. Google’s publication shows us where this option is already available (and good news, Spain is on the list) on this map:

With UCB enabled, when users choose to subscribe to Spotify Premium directly from the app, they are redirected to a payment interface where they can choose between different options, in this case the Google payment gateway or directly on Spotify. And in the case of the direct payment option on Spotify, as you can see in the image below, users can choose between paying by credit/debit card or via PayPal..

It seems that, at least in this case, there is no difference in price depending on whether we choose to use the Google system or the alternative offered by Spotify, but the two publications do not indicate whether in this case Google will continue to receive a commission despite the fact that their payment platform is no longer used.

In each case, Google seems to respond much faster to a model change yet to come that will fundamentally change the business model of device app stores. And so Apple seems to be defending a closed model all by itself (only its app store and only the payment platform). A model that, as I said before, has its days numbered.