Using external payments processor on Android for SaaS instead of Google Play In-app Billing

Question

I’ve built a SaaS website with subscriptions, enabled by an external payments processor (which could be Stripe, Braintree, Paddle, etc.).

Now this website for my SaaS ha

Answer 1

For sure, all (real-money) poker application are real-world example. (pokerstars for example)

I had never seen a poker application which use Google Play Service for billing. (maybe for legal reason)

They are using an hosted web-page (in a webview or in an encapsulated builtin web-browser) to treat payment processing on their side, which allow end user to select a payment methods in a big list.

Note that in that case you have to treat by yourself the user balance (which implied to treat all the security on payment processing on your side)

Answer 2

I think the mobile banking applications is simple example one of them. You can pay your bills, send money via mobile banking apps. But there is no need to use Google Play Service for billing. The all transactions will complete on the banking side. You can even send money directly to some betting sites. (If you want I'll share with some mobile banking apps for this features but you need to login, you have to be customer of the app owner bank)

I just want to share it for an idea, I think you can build your own crypto currency with Ethereum infrastructure called smart contracts. Its really easy to deploy. You can find 10mins tutorials for this. You can use as a money in your mobile app. In this way If someone need to be buy something they have to be purchase some of your crypto currency. And the google side you will be exception because of this,

"Payment is for digital content that may be consumed outside of the app itself (e.g. songs that can be played on other music players)"

But as you said,

it’s entirely up to Google’s discretion whether using an external payments processor is allowed or not, based on one’s interpretation of the terms presented above.

I'll signing under this.

You can also examine crypto stock market applications. I can bet they did not charge Google Play commission

Some of the information is not exactly what you want, but it's just for sharing ideas.

Answer 3

There are such apps. Various network providers for instance, one could argue that ability to use phone calls or internet is not a physical good. Specific example would be Skype, which allows buying skype credit from a webview within the app.

But I think a good example for you would be WPS Office android app, which suggests upgrading to premium with an in-app subscription or a credit card payment.

Answer 4

I think Quickbooks by Intuit (accounting software) is an example of a SaaS solution which, I believe, does not go through Google:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intuit.quickbooks

Another example is Invoice2Go

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.invoice2go.invoice2goplus

These solutions are available through different devices (iOS and Android) and thorough web. It doesn't make sense for Google to take a cut since the Android app is just one of many different user connection options, just like Google's songs/music example.