The gaming industry has morphed from being the domain of tech-savvy social outcasts into a multi-billion-dollar industry. However, a significant population of gamers, especially in less-developed countries such as the Philippines, remain unbanked.
UnionDigital Bank, the all-digital banking arm of Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines has partnered with Signapore-based gaming ecosystem Nexplay to help address this issue.
The tie-up aims to provide financial services to Filipino gamers. This especially true with the rise of play-to-earn games and content streaming which are primarily digital in nature.
“Our partnership with Nexplay allows us to offer our financial services to today’s Filipino gamers. By working together, UnionDigital Bank and Nexplay can create seamless paths to a digital bank account for millions in the gaming community,” Arvie De Vera, co-founder and CEO of UnionDigital Bank said.
But more than just financial services, the partnership also aims to provide Filipino gamers a financial identity which would help them secure bigger financial services in the future.
“There are professional gamers and streamers who get paid for gaming. And for this, they need the basic requirement that anyone needs, and that is a bank account. With a bank account, they can start saving and eventually avail of other services like housing loans.
Having a financial identity is the first step,” De Vera added.
Nexplay believes there is a large market that remains untapped. The rapid adoption of cashless transactions due to the pandemic has also made people more receptive of the concept of an all-digital bank account where there is no physical cash transfer through hands for a financial transaction.
“In the Philippines, there are an estimated 45 million recorded gamers via mobile at this point. That is nearly half of the national population. So there is a huge market that can be tapped. We are trying to change that notion that gaming is just a pastime. It’s going mainstream now and people are earning money from playing video games, whether professionally or casually. There has to be a financial structure that could guide them into this new world and that is what we hope to do,” Nexplay President and co-founder Miguel Bermas said.
The company also said that the partnership will help the unbanked in the gaming community by offering financial services beyond the usual traditional deposit accounts and debit cards.
“For Nexplay, our mission has always been helping gamers succeed. Working with UnionDigital Bank will help crystallize this combined vision of making financial services more accessible to our massive gaming community, our fans, our teams and our talents to enrich their digital experience. Together, we are committed to encourage greater financial inclusion within the rapidly growing gaming community in the Philippines, especially the next-generation gamers,” Nexplay co-founder and CEO Gabriel Paulo Benito said.
