Google faces India mobile payments competition claim
by Chris DonkinGoogle could be the latest mobile payments provider probed by authorities in India, as reports claim its competition commission is reviewing an allegation the internet giant abused its market position to promote the service.
Reuters reported The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is in the process of considering a complaint about the prominence of the Google Pay app within the native app store on Android devices, compared to rival services.
This, it is claimed, gives its own application an unfair advantage in the marketplace and damages competition.
Media revelations on a potential investigation come a week after reports the CCI was investigating issues with Facebook’s long-delayed WhatsApp Pay proposition, also on grounds of the US company abusing its market position.
This is far from the first time Google’s activities have attracted the attention of Indian authorities, with cases of bias on its search service and its relationship with device manufacturers also the subject of competition probes in recent years.
India’s mobile payments space is extremely competitive with a mixture of global corporations and large domestic companies tussling for a slice of the potentially lucrative sector.