Google reverses plan to stop paying Android developers in Argentina, will support them ‘for the time being’

Google announced last month that it would stop supporting payments for Android developers in Argentina, but — on the eve of the withdrawal — the company has reversed its decision and will continue to allow developers there to offer paid apps and draw revenue from Google Play “for the time being”.

The change would not have affected consumers in the Latin American country, who would still have enjoyed full access to Google Play apps, but it would have meant developers registered as being in Argentina were unable to draw revenue from the app store.

The company made its decision to withdraw payment support due to “ongoing issues” in Argentina. Google didn’t specify but it was likely down to the tightening of currency exchange regulations which has made it difficult to convert Argentine pesos into other currencies.

For now, as Android Police notes, developers in the country won’t need to go down alternative routes — such as re-registering from a supported country — and won’t experience a drop in earnings from Google Play-based apps.

However, the wording of Google’s note — below — is such that the long-term future of Google Play payments in Argentina remains unclear. Developers in the country are advised to make back-up plans sooner rather than later.

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Here’s what the company says on its developer page:

Last month, we announced that we planned to discontinue support for the sales of paid apps from developers registered in Argentina as of June 27th.

For the time being, we have decided to continue allowing developers registered in Argentina to offer paid apps and collect payments on Google Play as we explore more permanent solutions.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and we will publish updates when we have more to report.

We reached out to Google for further updates but, for now at least, it is business as usual for Android developers in Argentina.

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