Asia Pacific is home to the largest gaming markets in the world with China and Japan at the top of the market. Statista estimates that in 2017, gaming in China was worth $32.54 billion while Japan grossed $14.05 billion.
These are big numbers when pitted against the global total of $78.61 billion. Not surprisingly Asia also leads the world in the free-to-play and pay-to-pay gaming market worldwide with $11.2 billion and $1.4 billion in 2016 respectively.
Market researcher Niko Partners said Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest growing region for all online games (PC and online) and forecasts the market to reach $4.4 billion by 2021 with a population of over 400 million gamers by then.
Singapore entrepreneur, Min-Liang Tan, CEO and co-founder of Razer, best known as a hardware manufacturer for the global gaming market, likes to think of the company as a platform instead of the hardware and software company that is it today.
To this end, the company has released Razer Pay e-wallet in Malaysia to target the youth and millennials. In a press release, the company hinted to rolling out the service in other parts of Southeast Asia in the coming moneys promising seamless payment experience for Razer Pay users as they move about the region for work or play.
Tan said “Razer Pay is going to make cashless payments easier than ever. We're excited to launch Razer Pay first in Malaysia as part of our global rollout, and our partnership with the Berjaya Group will make it convenient for everyone to join the cashless revolution today."
Bergaya Group founder, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan added that the partnership will be a testbed for mobile payment innovation aimed squarely at the company’s retail ecosystem.
The Razer Pay platform can be used for purchases in 6,000 retail and F&B outlets including 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Singer, Cosway, Greyhound Cafe, Wendy's, Kenny Rogers, Krispy Kreme, 99 Speedmart, Tealive, Thundermatch, and Sweet Hut.
Razer Pay users can also transfer funds to other users via peer-to-peer cash transfers or to their bank accounts. Participating banks include AmBank, Bank Islam, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, Maybank, Public Bank and RHB Bank.
First published in FinTech Innovation