Google pulled a visual voicemail app developed by PhoneFusion from its Android Market for violation of its terms and conditions, which GigaOm suggests may be related to the app’s use of in-app payments that are not processed through Google Checkout. According to the report, PhoneFusion was told it had violated “section 3.3” of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement, which covers pricing and payments and which clearly states that “all fees received by developers for products distributed via the Market must be processed by the Market’s payment processor.” While the app, Visual VoiceMail, is free, the company offers supporting services such as voicemail translation, an ad-free variant, and fax capabilities, through its own website.

The parallel was drawn with Apple, which has recently taken action to ensure that developers do not look to in-app purchases using alternative payment mechanisms to cut it out of the value chain. It has been reported that Apple is facing investigation by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, to see whether its actions are anti-competitive.

Previously, Android Market has been perceived as a less regulated environment than Apple’s App Store. However, at Mobile World Congress earlier this month, a number of developers expressed their dissatisfaction with the options available for monetising apps sold through Android Market. Factors cited included the limited availability of operator billing support, and the limited penetration of Google Checkout internationally. This has led to developers investigating alternative options, even if this has meant cutting Google from the value chain.

One area where Google does not have the same level of control as Apple is that Android device owners are presented with multiple stores, which provide developers with an alternative path to subscribers – several high profile products have launched initially with independent retailer GetJar, for example, and this company recently stated that it will focus on expanding its Android activities moving forward.