Coda Payments raises $690M for cross-border payments and alternative app stores

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Cross-border payments for games and other digital products, as well as alternative app stores, are now possible thanks to $690 million raised by Coda Payments. Existing shareholders are selling their stakes to the new investors and no money will go to the company.

Smash Capital, Insight Partners, and GIC invested funds to acquire a minority stake in the Singapore-based company as it expands to more territories. The company's value was reported to be $2.5 billion. The secondary recapitalization shows that investors still have faith in the company.

All of the company's existing shareholders retain equity positions in Coda.

In an interview with GamesBeat, Neil Davidson, executive chairman and co-founder of Coda Payments, said that they wanted to bring on board some new investors with expertise to help support the company in its next phase of growth. Early in our history, we achieved profitability. We haven't really been on that cycle of new funding announcements every 18 months, with fresh investors coming in.

We really wanted to bring on board some new investors who have experience shepherding companies through the growth stage given our ambitions have so dramatically increased over the last few years. We went out and found these new investors because of that.

Millions of consumers in more than 50 territories worldwide can get in-game currency and other premium content from Codashop. It claims to be the only independent content marketplace with a global footprint.

Codashop

Through Codashop, developers and publishers make it easier for their customers to access the content they love by allowing them to choose from more than 300 convenient payment methods. Publishers can accept the same range of payment methods on their own websites as on Codashop, and they can also use Codacash, an e-wallet that offers loyalty rewards to customers.

Indonesia was the first market for Codashop. Since September, it has been operating in about 50 markets, starting in Southeast Asia and expanding into places like South Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. Emerging markets are where it operates.

If you want to make a purchase in Codashop, you have to submit your player ID. When you choose the virtual currency that you want to purchase, it is instantly added to the app. The shop is connected to the game so that it can be delivered instantly. The traditional app stores take a 30% commission, but Codashop takes 15%.

You can use any of the 300 alternative payment systems to pay for the purchase. On the App Store, Codashop is not allowed to sell apps that are already in the store. You can assign virtual currency to your account in a variety of app stores. Davidson said that people are willing to do this for the convenience of paying with a local payment system on their phones or for access to special marketing deals.

Davidson said that the focus historically and at least in the near term is continuing to take advantage of the opportunities that are available to us.

The ruling by the federal judge in the Apple antitrust lawsuit has made alternative stores more interesting to game companies. The judge ruled in favor of the developer in the case, saying that Apple could not prohibit developers from promoting deals off the store. Alternative app stores on mobile devices have been raised by that.

Publishers and developers use Coda to reach new paying audiences, reduce their monetization costs, and generate new revenues. Backed by a secure and reliable payments infrastructure and offering a seamless user experience, Codashop allows customers to select from a wide range of popular payment methods and enjoy exclusive deals.

Coda acts as a trusted go-to-market partner for publishers, ensuring compliance with local regulations and tax requirements, providing market insights, offering tailored marketing support, and providing 24/7. The platform of choice for taking life experiences over the top is the Coda vision.

While the Apple ruling drew attention to the option for alternative app stores, nothing has changed with Apple as the order has been stayed until further litigation. The US antitrust appeals court ruling in the Apple case is likely to cause regulators around the world to race to comply with the rules.

Customers are likely to find the payment method that they prefer on the site. That is a big driver. The user experience is another. For people who like in-app billing, it's a great option. For a lot of Codashop shop customers, remembering their user name and password is inconvenient, and that's because of in-app billing.

There are more than 500 people at the company. As the mobile game industry has become extremely cutthroat, Davidson said that Codashop hopes to help both publishers and new users with game discovery through its store. As game companies deal with Apple's push toward privacy over targeted ads, this kind of discovery will become more important.

We have a huge opportunity here. Davidson said that that story is going to unfold over the next few years. I think the validation comes from our track record. We have grown fast in the last few years. I think that has given our new investors confidence that we have tapped into a real trend here.

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