Brazil is the biggest gaming market in Latin America and is currently ranked number 12 globally, with an estimated revenue of USD 1.4 billion in 2016. Brazilians are keen on new technology and a growing community of enthusiastic gamers represents an excellent growth perspective for the gaming industry. To meet the needs of that huge market, PagBrasil has developed specific solutions over the past years, aimed at optimizing conversions and facilitating online payments, particularly for the gaming sector.
The gaming industry is expected to generate USD 99.6 billion in revenues worldwide this year according to Newzoo, indicating a growth of 8.5% compared to 2015, with mobile generating 37% of the total revenue. Although the LatAm region still represents a relatively small share of 4% of the global market, it is the fastest-growing region in the world with a 20% growth rate. Representing the largest market in LatAm, Brazil, therefore, offers a huge potential for gaming companies.
Brazil has a gamer population of nearly 59 million players with a series of specific needs. Domestic payment options are no exception and offering sophisticated solutions for Brazilian gamers is key to succeeding in the market. Apart from the country’s particularities when it comes to online payments, such as local credit cards and boleto bancário, gaming merchants must also take into account the entire user paying experience, which can be decisive in improving sales conversions.
Seamless payment experience is a must, but gamers also expect quick payment confirmation so that they can return to their game as soon as possible. This has not been an easy hurdle to overcome, in a country with 55 million unbanked adults and many young people without a credit card or even a bank account. That is why around 25% of all online payments are done via boleto bancário, according to PagBrasil. Offering fast payment confirmations can be tricky as regular boletos are usually confirmed with a delay of 2 to 3 business days. However, PagBrasil has developed a technology called Boleto Flash™, that confirms paid boletos within 3 hours, accelerating the process significantly. Another key factor is the relevance of mobile payments for the Brazilian gaming industry, which is expected to end with a growth of over 50% in revenues in 2016. Banco do Brasil, one of the largest banks in Brazil, has recently announced that it is now getting more transactions from mobile devices than from desktop. With that in mind, PagBrasil, as the first payment service provider in the market, has made its Boleto Flash™ and Boleto Express responsive, making it extremely simple for gamers to pay boletos on smartphones or tablets.
“Many of our gaming clients confirm that following the switchover to processing payments via PagBrasil, their online transaction conversion rates experienced a major increase,” said Ralf Germer, PagBrasil’s CEO.
