Due to payment system disruptions, effective as of December 26, 2024, Google Play is suspending seller services indefinitely for Play developers that use a disbursement bank account located in Russia. December 25, 2024 (11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time) will be the last day for accruing earnings from your sales globally. On January 15, 2025, you will receive your final earnings disbursement from all Play transactions.
Play developers with their disbursement bank account located in Russia will no longer be able to monetize via Google Play starting December 26, 2024. This means that all paid app purchases, in-app purchases (including subscription purchases), and subscription renewal payments attempted through Google Play billing will fail starting December 26, 2024. Google will not be able to successfully disburse any Play earnings after the final disbursement made on January 15, 2025, if your earnings disbursement bank account is located in Russia.
All remaining earnings will be disbursed on January 15, 2025 regardless of any earnings payment threshold you have set up. Learn more about your earnings threshold setup.
We encourage you to return to this page for the latest information. Below we have addressed some additional questions developers might have and we will continue to keep this page updated.
For previously announced changes to Google Play's billing system for users in Russia and Belarus, review this Help Center article. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Google Play developer support.
Frequently asked questions
Can users still download my free apps and games from Google Play?Yes, users will still be able to download your free apps and games from the Google Play store.
When a user attempts to buy your app, start an in-app purchase, or subscribe through Google Play’s billing system, an error message will appear and no transaction will be processed.
Users can only access your paid apps and games that have already been downloaded before December 26, 2024. Users cannot access previously purchased apps and games which are not currently downloaded on a user's device, regardless of the date of purchase.
Subscriptions will continue until the end of the then-current billing period, but will not be able to be renewed and will be automatically canceled on the next billing date after December 25, 2024. Any subscription billing grace periods you have configured will be honored. Any free trials will continue to work until a payment is attempted.
There are two things you can do:
- First, you can extend the grace period for existing subscribers to allow them to continue accessing content after their billing period ends for up to 30 days in Play Console.
- Second, you can defer a user’s next renewal for as long as one year with the Google Play Developer API. The user will retain full access to the content but will not be charged during the deferral period. The subscription renewal date will be updated to reflect the new date. The payment attempt will fail on the updated renewal date.
If you wish, you can choose to offer your app for free or remove your paid subscription and allow users to access the subscription content for free.
You can still publish new free apps and update existing free apps. You will not be able to monetize if your disbursement bank account is located in Russia.
No, December 25, 2024 will be the last date that you or Google can issue refunds to your users.
There is no impact on Play's Payments policies outside of Russia. Visit this Help Center page for more information.