Emerging markets are quickly shedding the underutilised payments reputation that has been placed upon them in recent years through a wave of methods and capabilities.
Mobile payments have seen significant growth within a range of African markets, with Ecobank Mobile, MTN Money Mobile and M-Pesa leading the charge. There is still however much more gambling operators can do to provide a true unified payments approach.
During a panel discussion at SBC Summit‘s Payment Expert Summit in Lisbon, this topic was broadly analysed by leaders in both the payments and gambling sectors to outline some of the solutions operators can provide to its user bases.
Andria Evripidou, CEO of crypto gambling payment processor XDA.io, believes that there is a new thirst for more payment methods to be introduced by emerging market residents and exemplifies the need for more.
She said: “We know that emerging markets have struggled with their payments, but I think we are hoping that they leapfrog from heavy cash usage. Within the time span of five years they have jumped to mobile payments, and now they are jumping into the adoption of cryptocurrencies.
“So it really does show something about their thirst for innovation and unified payments is exactly that innovation they are after.”
What the growing appetite for new payment methods means for operators in the gambling space is how to successfully implement them.
Merchants and operators alike within emerging markets are seeking these payment integrations but the capabilities are, more often than not, too challenging to find. This is also particularly even more challenging when seeking to adopt more niche payment methods.
Galina Bineva, Commercial Director for OKTO, believes that not only does this integration process needs to become more streamlined, she also highlighted additional benefits to adopting some of the more unknown methods.
“Card payments could be reviewed in one market as a predominant payment method, which could help make for great adoption,” said Bineva.
“I believe not only that the main and vital payment methods can enter the market is the first component for acceptance, but also the niche methods that have yet to see great adoption as there needs to be greater focus on this area.
“These aspects also go a long way for other aspects such as compliance, KYC, loyalty, and a whole range of features that can be enabled by integrating various payment methods.”
From an igaming perspective, what more can operators do to better facilitate a more seamless payment process for those who are underbanked in these emerging markets, who predominantly still interact with traditional financial services.
George Haralabopoulos, Head of Payments Product at Kaizen Gaming, believes that igaming companies should first consider what are the market preferences for such payment methods, placing a heavy emphasis on localisation.
“it all depends on the maturity of the market”
Tom Chandler, Payments Director at Flutter
He shared: “What an igaming platform should do in the case of an emerging market with limited resources, it should first consider alternative payment methods, which are increasing more and more.
“We have seen this in a big number of markets showing they can make a difference. Also, implementing local payment providers is something that can definitely help in the right direction to give the customer options that they are familiar with, but by also integrating these local rails, this can also help attract customers.”
When it pertains to payments in localised, emerging markets, igaming operators are increasingly viewing this aspect of a player’s experience on their platforms as vital for customer retention and loyalty.
If a player can not perform a deposit or receive money in their preferred payment method, more often than not they will decide to leave that platform in search for another operator that will cater to their payment needs.
For Tom Chandler, Flutter’s Payments Director, he believes that how mature a market is becomes essential for a company like Flutter when it comes to knowing which payment methods and processes to implement.
When discussing how igaming and betting companies can overcome these challenges, he proposed a more unified frontend approach, if that can be attained.
He said: “If you have a multitude of methods on a unified frontend, obviously from an access aspect it is a lot easier. If you look at markets that are more mature, sometimes it can work in a way that can work a lot faster when you look at Open Banking products.”
“But it all depends on the maturity of the market and also, what would you define as an emerging market? Is it regulated yet and has it become accessible for commerce?”
Relating back to a previous panel session at the Payment Expert Summit, defining what exactly a mature market is to many payments and gaming companies is a non-starter.
Even if you were to look at one of the most perceived mature payments and gambling markets, the UK, even this country is embarking on new regulations on both fields that will change the trajectory of its landscape.
However, a shining example of an emerging market that has sufficiently prepared for the enormity of gambling payment processing it is about to endure is Brazil, and its instant payment rail PIX.
PIX accounts for more than 90% of all monthly transactions in Brazil and is only active in its native country for the time being. All gambling operators will almost certainly be implementing PIX to gain a headstart in the potentially lucrative Brazilian online sports betting market.
But for those operators seeking to further expand into different territories, if the market does not have a predominant localised method like PIX, education and knowledge of the payments landscape in said country will go a long way in being able to thrive as a platform that players will no doubt return to again.
