Digital payments company Paytm returned to the Google Play Store on Friday, nearly five hours after it was taken down from the platform for alleged policy violation.
On Friday, 18 September 2020, India’s most preferred payments and financial services app – Paytm was temporarily removed from the Google Play Store. We were forced to comply with Google’s mandate of removing our UPI cashback offer and scratch cards to get re-listed. We want to share with you a sequence of events as they unfolded. Google removed the Paytm app from the Play Store earlier in the day. It’s one of the largest mobile payment platforms in India. Paytm claims Google’s flouted competition rules. Paytm has been removed from the Play Store by Google. The app still remains functional on Android phones. Paytm as a platform can still be used from iPhones and PCs. In a rather surprising move, Google has taken down the app for the popular financial services platform, Paytm from its Play Store.
The app was back on the Google Play store on Friday evening after the Softbank-backed Paytm removed the 'cashback' feature from a recently-launched game on the application. 'Update: And we're back.
The company tweeted to confirm that it had been restored on the platform.
Paytm’s First Game Fantasy app was also taken down from the Google Play Store. The reason for the removal was not immediately clear. The tech giant had in a blog post referred to their policies on gambling.
Paytm had assured its users that the service will be restored soon. Power spins free spins bonus. “It will be back very soon,” it had tweeted. “All your money is completely safe, and you can continue to enjoy your Paytm app as normal.”
“We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting,” Suzanne Frey, vice president of product, android security and privacy at Google, wrote in the blog.“This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes, it is a violation of our policies.”
This came as Paytm First Games was gearing up for fantasy cricket ahead of the Indian Premier League. Cricket fans bet on their favourite players and gain money depending on how the players have performed in real life.
Google added that it informs the developer about the policy violation and removes the app as the course of action until the policy guidelines are followed. “We have these policies to protect users from potential harm,” it added. “And in the case where there are repeated policy violations, we may take more serious action which may include terminating Google Play Developer accounts. Our policies are applied and enforced on all developers consistently.”
Paytm, one of the major players in India’s digital payments markets, was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma and is owned by One97 Communications Limited.
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