Google has removed the popular Indian financial services app Paytm from the Play Store for violating its gaming policies. Paytm is India’s most valuable start-up and claims more than 50 million monthly active users. Its flagship app, which competes with Google Pay in India, disappeared from the country’s Play Store on Friday.
The Google Play listing for the Paytm app displays an error that reads: “Sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.” Android device users also cannot download the app from the preloaded Google Play. However, existing users who have already installed the app on their devices can continue to use the mobile wallet and other services provided by the company.
Paytm posted a tweet confirming that the app will be restored very soon and reassuring users that their money is safe.
With the Paytm app, Paytm First Games is also no longer available for download via Google Play.
Paytm disappeared from the Google Play Store hours after Suzanne Frey of Google, vice president of Android products, security and privacy, detailed the instructions in a blog post. “We have these policies to protect users from potential harm. When an app violates these policies, we notify the developer of the violation and remove the app from Google Play until the developer brings it into compliance. And in the event of repeated rule violations, we can take more serious action, including terminating Google Play developer accounts. Our policies are applied and applied consistently to all developers, ”she wrote.
“We have the same goals for our gambling policy. We do not allow online casinos and do not support any unregulated gambling application that facilitates sports betting. This includes whether an app leads consumers to a website. process that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes is a violation of our policies, ”Suzanne wrote.
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This means that Google apparently removed Paytm from the Play Store because it believed the app violated its new guidelines on online gambling and contests.
Reports have claimed that Google has notified the developers of Paytm of the removal and continues to be in contact with Paytm to retrieve the app from the Play Store.
Paytm is owned by an Indian company called One97 Communications Ltd, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, but the company had received massive funding from fintech Ant Financials, which is an ally of Chinese group Alibaba.