A young, mobile-ready population and the next digital content power consumers of South Asia
Bangladesh has strict regulations governing the use of international credit cards, where stringent approval criteria means less than 1% of Bangladeshi card users are approved for an international credit card. This limits the penetration of traditional app stores, which only accept international credit cards, and provides opportunity for publishers looking to tap into this large, mobile-savvy population of young consumers by incorporating local and accessible payment methods into their strategy.
Bengali (known locally as Bangla) is the official language of Bangladesh and is critical for successful social media marketing in this country. In-app localization in Bengali is less widely adopted, as many Bangladeshi app users understand conversational English and are accustomed to using English in-app. However, with high smartphone penetration and 60% of the population between 17-40 years of age, publishers looking to succeed should be present on social channels, with content localized in Bengali.
of top performing games are in English.
Customer support queries handled in Bengali (Bangla), using the Latin alphabet.
The wide availability of low-cost smartphones and affordable data rates have enabled users from many different consumer segments and demographics to join the digital market in Bangladesh. Younger age groups also prove to be more tech-savvy and easily adapt to new features and technologies, so with 60% of the population aged 17-40 and smartphone penetration of 41%, Bangladesh provides high potential for user acquisition among digital publishers.
Mobile gaming market size
in 2022
Bangladesh is a highly-regulated market for foreign currency, which presents challenges for fund repatriation under the foreign exchange regulatory act – repatriating funds requires mandatory permission from various government agencies. Digital content is also considered a tangible good, and digital content and e-commerce regulations are in early stages of government development. During this period of regulatory experimentation, working with a merchant of record (MOR) like Codashop can help publishers navigate local complexities and ensure full compliance.
With low credit card penetration, e-wallets are the predominant choice of payment method in Bangladesh, especially for younger consumers who cannot access credit cards. Since 2022, Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) has gained traction as a payment method for digital content purchases by end users. In addition, the government has cut the surcharge on DCB transactions from 33.25 percent to 1 percent, making them more attractive than e-wallets, which now impose a 15 percent VAT on end-user prices.
bKash
Nagad
Robi
Visa
Mastercard
E-wallets are the preferred payment methods on Codashop, covering 91.8% of transactions. Direct Carrier Billing is a newer offering that is likely to grow in popularity in coming years.
Bangladeshi users are extremely price sensitive – promotions and content pricing must be set accordingly to entice customers. In-game events have seen success with influencing purchases and should be considered as part of publisher strategy.
Know your shoppers to drive maximum impact with marketing
Users in Bangladesh are younger and extremely price-sensitive, meaning marketing strategies that include a generous discount or a promotion can have immediate impact. This campaign, executed in partnership with bKash e-wallet, offered 45% cash back on FreeFire, PUBG and MLBB purchases, ultimately driving 10-30 times revenue growth across various promoted titles. In price-sensitive markets, working with publishers and payment partners to bundle offers is a winning strategy.
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