Home to 79M internet users ready to spend on digital products
The Philippines is in the top 12% of countries with the highest revenue from online gaming, ranking 23rd globally in 2021. The nation’s gaming community is expanding rapidly, with more than 32 million paying players eager to discover new and existing games.
While most of the country speaks English, localized content should be adapted to Tagalog as the language represents a significant amount of top-grossing mobile app downloads and the majority of customer support inquiries in the region. Publishers should also consider the impact of local network infrastructure limitations - due to sometimes slow and unreliable internet in the region, publishers may consider “lite” versions of mobile apps as part of their strategy.
of the Top 15 grossing mobile apps in the Philippines are offered in Tagalog.
of the customer support inquiries received by Codashop are in Tagalog, with the remainder in English.
As internet infrastructure advances throughout the country, a greater number of PC gamers are adopting mobile gaming. Today, the Philippines is a mobile-first market with 52 million players generating $600 million in annual revenue - making it one of the largest mobile markets in Southeast Asia. Popular genres like role-playing, action, adventure, and strategy are favorites among the country's mobile gaming community.
Mobile gaming market size
in 2020
In 2021, the Philippines introduced a 12% VAT on purchases made using direct carrier billing. Publishers unfamiliar with Philippines tax policies may consider working with a registered third party to facilitate smoother processing. For example, Codashop is registered to manage tax obligations on behalf of its partners, acting as the merchant of record (MOR).
The Philippines is a global leader in digitizing distribution chains to ensure they reach the most remote parts of the country. This is done by paying with “load,” a local term for prepaid mobile credit and the most popular way to purchase digital content with direct carrier billing. Load is widely available to purchase and is commonly used for buying digital content. As this method is prepaid, there is also no risk off bad debt.
Codacash
GCash
Maya
Coins
GrabPay
Globe
Smart
Asia United Bank
Banco de Oro (BDO)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
Chinabank
EastWest
I2I Rural Banks
Landbank
Maybank
Metrobank
Philippine National Bank (PNB)
PS Bank
RCBC
Robinson’s Bank
Security Bank
United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB)
Unionbank
7-Eleven
Bayad Center (including LBC)
Robinson’s Department Stores
Cebuana
MLhuillier
RD Pawnshop
Palawan Pawnshop
SM Payment Counters
ECPay
Visa
Mastercard
Prepaid direct carrier billing (DCB) subscribers make up the majority of the client base for telecommunication operators in the Philippines. And while bank adoption continues to rise and accounts for 30% of the population, credit card penetration is relatively low at just 10%. However, e-wallets have been growing in popularity recently, spurred by an increase in digital lifestyles during the global pandemic.
Due to the high proliferation of “load” payments, the country sees a large volume of low-priced mobile transactions.
As a result, more than 80% of transactions are under US$2.
Genshin Impact 1st Anniversary
Codashop marked the first anniversary of Genshin Impact on Codashop with exclusive top-up offers, social media contesting, and special live-streamed content, driving a 31% increase in Codashop market share. With marketing support from Codashop partners GCash, Globe, and Smart, the month-long campaign also unlocked a partnership with reputable gaming gear brand, HyperX.
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