'Koda Shop' Emerging as an Alternative to Google In-App Payments... Growth Accelerates with 'Half-Price Payment Fees'

Interview with Lee Ju-yeon, Head of Koda Payments Korea Branch
"Achieved 1-year target in just 3 months since entering Korean market"
"15% payment fee... Half of Google and Apple's"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As the controversy over Google's mandatory in-app payments continues, the IT and gaming industries are busy preparing alternatives, such as building their own payment systems to save on fees. However, since building such systems requires high technical expertise and considerable time to attract users, efficient operation is not easy. Amid this, the third-party payment platform 'CodaShop,' operated by the global payment specialist company Coda Payments, is gaining attention as an alternative platform.

On the 21st, Lee Ju-yeon, head of Coda Payments' Korea branch, said in an interview with Asia Economy, "CodaShop has shown high growth within one year of entering the Korean market and is establishing itself as an essential partner for digital content sales."

CodaShop is a payment platform site operated by Coda Payments. It provides services not only in Asia but also in North America and Europe. The global user base reaches 66.7 million. It partners with global companies such as Tencent and Activision Blizzard, and domestically collaborates with Webzen, Krafton (India), Pearl Abyss, and Naver Zepeto.

Users can purchase game items and digital content from CodaShop's partner game companies on the web-based CodaShop. It supports multi-platform games and even virtual currency (gems) usable in Naver Zepeto, allowing easy purchases without membership registration.

In Korea, the service officially started in April last year. Since 2020, Lee has served as the head of the Korea branch and business development director at Coda Payments Korea, overseeing domestic business development for Coda Payments and CodaShop. A graduate of Kyung Hee University with a master's degree from Westminster University in the U.S., he is an expert in online and mobile games. He has worked in the gaming and technology industries for over 12 years, managing hundreds of partners worldwide.

Since his appointment, Lee has aggressively marketed using influencers. The convenient and fast payment method has spread by word of mouth among gamers, leading to rapid sales growth. Lee said, "We achieved the sales target set for one year within just three months of entering the Korean market," adding, "Looking at the sales trend over the past year, it has shown a continuous growth curve except for just one month."

From a B2B perspective, Lee cited the low 15% commission fee as CodaShop's biggest competitive advantage. This is only half of the current Google and Apple's in-app payment fees. Lee said, "There are no additional fees beyond the 15%," and added, "After deducting card payment fees, the commission Coda Payments takes is only in the single digits."

However, Lee expressed some discomfort with the view that CodaShop is competing directly with payment systems like Google and Apple. He said, "Since we do not provide a game download service platform, it is difficult to see us as being in direct competition with Google," and added, "In some ways, our service is similar to Amazon's intermediary model."

Although it is a web payment service, CodaShop also offers the effect of in-app payments. Lee explained, "If users create a 'shortcut icon' for CodaShop on their smartphones through bookmarks, they can easily make payments without needing to access a PC," and noted, "About 95% of payments are made via mobile."

Recently, the industry's trend of building proprietary payment systems to avoid in-app payment fees is considered a business risk for CodaShop. For example, Nexon has applied its own payment system to the PC version of the new Dungeon & Fighter Mobile, saving on fees payable to Google.

Despite this trend, Lee is confident it does not significantly affect partner recruitment. This is due to CodaShop's unique localized support system, which it promotes as 'all-in-one.' Lee said, "We handle website construction and hosting, personal information protection, security, end-customer support, and local tax processing on behalf of our partners," adding, "For game companies and businesses aiming for global expansion, using CodaShop is more efficient than building their own billing systems."