Words by Jian Kang, Director of Product Marketing
Mar 05 2025
23 mins
For gaming companies striving to scale, the APAC region presents a unique blend of high-growth potential and operational complexity. With fast-evolving payment systems, tightening regulations, and growing concerns over fraud, navigating these challenges is crucial for success.
In 2025, the role of the Merchant of Record (MoR) has never been more critical as it provides a solution to simplify cross-border transactions, ensure compliance, and drive business growth. This comprehensive guide will show you how MoR services streamline operations in the APAC region—enabling gaming businesses to overcome hurdles, capture new opportunities, and scale efficiently in a rapidly changing market. Through expert insights, real-world case studies, and actionable strategies, you’ll discover how a Merchant of Record can be the key to unlocking your gaming business’s potential in APAC.
Asia Pacific (APAC) is at the heart of the gaming gold rush. In 2023 alone, the region generated over $84 billion in revenue, with mobile gaming driving much of this growth.
With 1.48 billion gamers across the region, it’s a massive opportunity for publishers.
Even so, breaking into these diverse markets isn’t without challenges. Navigating fragmented payment landscapes, addressing varied consumer preferences, and keeping pace with rapidly evolving regulations present significant hurdles to entry.
This is where the Merchant of Record (MoR) model comes into play. Designed to handle these operational intricacies, an MoR allows publishers to focus on creating great games – not wrestling with compliance and currency issues.
At Coda, we offer our MoR solution as trusted way to fast track global expansion. We manage everything from regulatory compliance and tax obligations to payment processing and fraud prevention so you don’t have to.
Merchant of Record (MoR): The legal seller of your digital goods and services, taking on full responsibility for processing payments.
This includes managing compliance, tax calculations, fraud prevention, and customer service – crucial functions that allow publishers to focus on creating exceptional games without getting entangled in operational complexities.
While managing payments in-house may seem like a cost-effective solution, it often introduces unforeseen complications that can hinder business growth. Here are the most common challenges publishers face without an MoR partner:
Bottom line: Let an MoR handle the headaches while you focus on creating amazing games.
The MoR model isn’t just about streamlining payments – it’s about unlocking safe and efficient global expansion. This is how:
We talked about how the APAC gaming scene is booming. It is a market that’s leading the world in size and growth. Perhaps equally exciting and troublesome, each country in APAC is its own unique puzzle piece, with varying payment preferences, consumer behavior, and regulations. The true value of a MoR model lies in its ability to be your end-to-end partner across all your business needs, from handling transactions to compliance and risk–it’s scaling, simplified.
APAC is the largest and fastest-growing gaming market, but its diversity creates unique operational hurdles. Earlier, we mentioned that each country presents a unique set of payment preferences, consumer behaviors, and regulations – turning market entry into a complex puzzle.
Take Indonesia as an example. In 2024, the government introduced Presidential Regulation 19/2024 and Regulation 2/2024, establishing a national gaming industry roadmap and updating age classification standards. These measures signal a broader trend across APAC: governments are becoming more proactive in shaping the gaming landscape.
Currency management presents another layer of complexity. Many APAC currencies – such as IDR (Indonesian Rupiah), MYR (Malaysian Ringgit), MMK (Myanmar Kyat), PHP (Philippine Peso), and INR (Indian Rupee) – aren’t freely tradable outside their home countries. Without the proper documentation and local partnerships, repatriating earnings in USD can become a logistical nightmare. Companies risk having revenue trapped in local accounts, disrupting cash flow and slowing down operations.
APAC also has one of the highest fraud rates among all regions, surging by 24% from 2022 to 2023. Being adequately protected by a strong MoR shields your business from fraudsters and reputational damage. In markets with a cultural emphasis on trust, being protected against fraud isn’t just operationally smart – it’s essential for brand reputation.
Beyond keeping pace with regulatory developments and compliance, an MoR model is crucial in APAC to simplify your growth outside of app stores. Handling payment regulations and cross-border compliance can feel like a maze. Don’t let them slow you down—focus on building great games while an MoR clears the path.
Asia Pacific (APAC) is a top expansion target for many publishers – and for good reason. With its diverse markets and deep-seated passion for gaming, the region presents significant growth potential.
APAC gamers spend more hours in virtual worlds than players in other regions, and notable milestones—like esports debuting as an official medal event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou—underscore the region’s rising prominence.
Yet, publishers face multiple roadblocks when breaking into APAC. Let’s go into detail on what you’re up against:
In Western markets, credit cards dominate digital payments. In contrast, APAC is mobile-first. Over 70% of Southeast Asian consumers are unbanked or underbanked. With one of the highest rates of mobile phone penetration globally, mobile banking platforms have become a natural extension of daily life.
Most users juggle multiple digital wallets, making payment flexibility critical. Here are some of the most popular alternative payment methods (APMs) in APAC:
Is this the moment to break away from traditional app stores and maximize margins? There’s never been a better time to take control—an MoR model makes it possible. You can tap into local payment methods seamlessly, no matter the commerce platform with an established MoR. With Coda’s 400+ payment options, you can access lower fees, more payment options, and higher conversions.
Expanding across APAC involves tackling a complex web of foreign exchange headaches and compliance challenges:
The Opportunity: An MoR handles tax remittance, FX management, and local compliance, so publishers don’t have to. Publishers can skip the regulatory frameworks and stay 100% compliant—while focusing on growth.
We’ve discussed that APAC has some of the highest online payment fraud rates globally. By 2025, the region is expected to lead in fraud losses.
Important note: Fraud methodologies vary across markets, underscoring the need for localized solutions:
The Opportunity: With fraud on the rise, safeguarding revenue is non-negotiable. As an MoR, Coda’s approach includes real-time transaction monitoring to detect suspicious activity early, allowing us to detect fraud within minutes and stop it within hours. We also leverage AI-powered fraud scoring that adapts to evolving attack patterns, alongside cross-game fraud detection to block bad actors network-wide.
The result? Less fraud, fewer chargebacks, and higher revenue retention.
With the creator economy thriving, speed matters more than ever. In a world overflowing with content, consumers expect instant gratification. Many are increasingly opting for instant e-wallet payouts over traditional bank transfers to avoid delays.
The Opportunity: Trusted and used by the largest creator economy publishers, Coda as an MoR makes it easy to distribute earnings in real-time through digital wallets and local payout solutions. Many creator economy platforms trust Coda to net off their pay-in funds in currency-restricted markets for payouts, which is made possible only by Coda being the MoR in these markets, such as Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan. In addition, speed matters —whether it’s for individual content creators, streamers, game partners, or affiliate marketers—and an MoR ensures payouts happen fast.
Growth isn’t just about launching a game and hoping players show up – you need more than just a great product. Seamless payments, recurring revenue models, strong localization, and cross-border enablement are all crucial pieces in scaling strategically.
This is where a Merchant of Record (MoR) makes a real difference.
Unlike standard payment processors, an MoR manages the entire operational process. Beyond handling payments, preventing fraud, and ensuring compliance, the right MoR partner delivers tangible value that fuels revenue growth.
With Coda as your MoR partner, you gain a reliable, scalable solution that enables fast market entry and maximizes revenue potential across APAC. The possibilities are endless:
Subscription-based gaming and in-game content are becoming increasingly popular in APAC as publishers look for predictable, long-term revenue streams.
However, executing an effective subscription strategy goes beyond implementing a simple checkout function. Publishers need to manage:
An MoR helps optimize these processes, providing localized solutions that maintain player engagement while ensuring steady revenue.
While app stores have long been the default sales channel, they often charge significant platform fees and offer limited control over customer engagement.
Establishing a direct-to-consumer web store offers publishers several advantages:
Working with an MoR like Coda enhances this process further:
By leveraging an MoR’s full-stack payment and compliance support, publishers can launch a high-converting web store, maximize revenue, and reduce reliance on app stores.
Localization extends beyond providing the right payment methods. To build lasting engagement, publishers need to adapt their entire user experience to regional expectations and preferences. Key considerations include:
MoRs optimize every touchpoint, ensuring the right user experience and payment flow for every market.
Expanding across APAC presents complex challenges in foreign exchange management, tax compliance, and cross-border transactions.
Without dedicated support, publishers risk operational delays and financial inefficiencies. An MoR solves these through:
APAC’s gaming ecosystem thrives on partnerships. A well-connected MoR like Coda can help publishers unlock valuable regional networks, improving reach and engagement.
MoR-supported partnership opportunities include:
By leveraging an MoR’s ecosystem, publishers can tap into APAC’s massive player base and scale faster.
Scaling in APAC is filled with opportunities – but also complex challenges. From navigating regulatory requirements to optimizing local payment preferences, succeeding in the region demands more than a one-size-fits-all approach.
With Coda as your MoR partner, you gain a comprehensive solution that removes operational hurdles, streamlines compliance, and maximizes revenue potential. Together, we help you work smart so you can keep building great games.
How one top-tier game publisher scaled faster, reduced costs, and unlocked new markets with Coda’s Merchant of Record model.
A leading global game publisher set out to expand aggressively across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Despite the vast market potential, the company faced three significant hurdles that impeded its growth strategy:
The publisher needed a solution that would enable them to localize payments, ensure compliance, and improve revenue without adding operational burdens.
By partnering with Coda as their MoR, the publisher gained:
Coda enabled integration with the region’s most popular payment methods, including Dana, GCash, GrabPay, and Alipay. This gave players access to their preferred payment options, resulting in:
With direct APM payments facilitated by Coda, the publisher minimized reliance on app stores, reducing transaction-related fees and improving profit margins. The outcome:
Coda handled tax remittance, cross-border FX conversions, and local regulatory compliance seamlessly, resulting in:
As transaction volumes grew, so did exposure to fraud. Coda’s AI-driven fraud detection systems provided real-time transaction monitoring and adaptive fraud scoring, leading to:
With Coda’s MoR model, the publisher was able to achieve the following milestones within the first 3 months of the partnership:
Coda’s Merchant of Record solution provided this top-tier publisher with the tools to overcome these hurdles, enabling faster market entry, improved profitability, and a better player experience.
Success in APAC isn’t just about conquering one of the fastest-growing gaming markets – it’s a launchpad for global expansion. With the right MoR partner, publishers can seamlessly scale from APAC to LATAM, EMEA, and beyond, minimizing friction while maximizing revenue.
What does it take to win in APAC? The same essentials for success in LATAM and EMEA—mastering APMs, regulatory compliance, and cross-border transactions.
What works in APAC can work globally. The key lies in choosing a scalable MoR solution that adapts to regional payment preferences, tax structures, and compliance landscapes. By leveraging proven strategies from APAC, publishers can turn regional success into a global blueprint, accelerating growth with minimal disruption.
Coda’s MoR model is designed for scale – making global expansion easier, faster, and more profitable. Here’s how:
Expanding into new markets doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. By applying successful APAC strategies, publishers can adapt quickly with minor adjustments:
Markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina rely heavily on localized APMs such as PIX, OXXO, and Boleto Bancário. These methods mirror the popularity of DANA, GCash, and GrabPay in APAC. With Coda’s MoR solution, integrating popular regional payment methods is simple and efficient.
Markets like Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have intricate tax laws and FX regulations – similar to APAC markets. Tax laws and FX are heavily influenced by politics and general countries’ economy. For example in Turkey, following months of budget deficits due to election spending and relief for natural disasters, the Turkish government announced a VAT increase from 18% to 20% on a Friday, 7th July 2023 with immediate effect the following Monday, leaving companies scrambling to implement the changes on time to avoid non-compliance.
Backed by extensive regional experience, Coda’s MoR assures smooth compliance with local financial regulations, even through sudden regulatory changes, so you can enter high-complexity markets with confidence.
Global operations often come with significant legal overhead. Coda’s MoR model simplifies compliance and tax management, eliminating the need for publishers to set up local legal entities in each country, retain regional tax experts for every market, and navigate complex reporting requirements alone.
As the legal seller of record, Coda handles the heavy lifting, enabling publishers to reduce administrative burden and focus on revenue-driving activities.
Scaling globally doesn’t have to be complicated. With Coda’s MoR solution, publishers can achieve:
Choosing Coda means focusing on what you do best – creating and publishing exceptional games – while we handle the complexities of global commerce.
Choosing the right Merchant of Record (MoR) isn’t just about handling payments – it’s about enabling long-term growth, maximizing revenue, and ensuring operational efficiency across APAC’s complex and varied markets.
The right partner should not only simplify transactions but also navigate the regulatory, technological, and market-specific nuances that come with operating in the region.
Here’s an actionable checklist to guide your decision-making process.
In APAC, consumers favor local methods over global credit cards. E-wallets, direct carrier billing, and bank transfers dominate the market.
Operating across multiple APAC countries requires navigating varied tax regulations, foreign exchange controls, and remittance requirements. Before you go global, make sure to ask:
Fraud rates in APAC are among the highest globally, with specific threats varying by market. For example, high fraud rates in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam require adaptive, AI-driven monitoring.
Prompt payouts are critical for influencers, content creators, and business partners. Speed and flexibility in disbursements can enhance partner relationships and market competitiveness.
Ultimately, choosing an MoR for APAC is about more than processing payments—it’s about finding a partner who understands the region’s complexities and can help you navigate them with ease.
Coda’s solutions are designed to support your growth at every stage, from seamless payment integrations to robust compliance and fraud protection.
Expanding into APAC presents immense opportunities – but also unique operational challenges.
From navigating fragmented payment ecosystems to ensuring tax compliance and mitigating fraud risks, publishers need more than just a payment processor.
An MoR streamlines these complexities, enabling you to focus on what matters most: delivering outstanding gaming experiences.
Coda as your Merchant of Record means you’re equipped with:
Expanding in APAC doesn’t have to be complicated. With Coda’s proven solutions, you can scale smarter, grow faster, and stay fully compliant – without the operational headaches.
Let’s put APAC to work for you. Connect with us today–and expand with confidence. If you’re ready to go, we’re ready to grow.
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