What's the news: Google on November 15 announced that Play Store in India will support UPI Autopay for recurring payments for subscriptions. While UPI has been available as a payment option for users since 2019, UPI's autopay feature, which launched in July 2020, wasn't available until now. Why does this matter: UPI Autopay will make it easier for Android users to pay for subscriptions, given that RBI regulations have made recurring transactions on credit and debit cards a hassle (more below). This should also benefit app developers who can worry less about subscriptions not renewing due to card issues. “We are always looking at adding popular and effective forms of payment around the world to ensure people can pay for apps and in-app content conveniently. With the introduction of UPI Autopay on the platform, we aim to extend the convenience of UPI to subscription-based purchases, helping many more people access helpful and delightful services – while enabling local developers to grow their subscription-based businesses on Google Play.” — Saurabh Agarwal, Head of Google Play Retail & Payments Activation - India, Vietnam, Australia & New Zealand How will UPI Auto Pay work: When signing up for a subscription service on any app, users will have to select the “Pay with UPI” payment method and then approve the purchase in their supported UPI app. A mandate for recurring payments gets registered on the UPI App and subsequent payments are automatically debited from the user's bank account at the renewal date until the mandate is cancelled or the…
