Behind the Investment: Coda Payments – Building a Global Network for Mobile Publishers to Reach Their Users
Smartphones are gateways to the world. In seconds, you can chat with someone on the other side of the globe, find a recipe for any cuisine, and, most excitingly, plug into new universes of entertainment. As smartphones quickly make their way to the hands of every consumer, the digital gaming market continues to boom with mobile gaming at the forefront of growth and innovation. With over $75B in global mobile gaming spend alone in 2021 and expected growth at 10%+ CAGR through 2024, it is more important than ever to build the financial rails on which this ecosystem operates.
That’s where Coda comes in. With over 300+ integrated payment methods across 45+ countries, ranging from telecom providers to credit cards to digital wallets and more, Coda has built a global network that allows mobile game and app publishers to meet users where they are: on their phone. Coda’s frictionless storefront, CodaShop, allows users from every corner of the world to discover and buy the games, content, and services they love with the payment method of their choosing in a matter of seconds. For publishers, CodaShop abstracts away the complexity of integrating with hundreds of payment methods in various countries where the payments landscapes are fragmented and difficult to navigate. Simultaneously it brings together a network of loyal and excited users to a marketplace where they can explore publishers’ offerings.
Behind CodaShop sits Coda’s proprietary payments engine, CodaPay, which extends beyond the marketplace as a stand-alone offering allowing publishers to accept the same range of 300+ payment methods available on CodaShop on their own site. All of this culminates in a win-win-win value proposition with massive network effects. It is a win for the end-users and gamers who have access to boundless digital content across the globe, all in one frictionless platform through the payment method of their choosing; it’s a win for publishers, who can monetize their user base on CodaShop, and on their own sites with CodaPay; and it’s a win for the payment channels and providers, who can leverage Coda’s consumer and publisher reach for incredible TPV growth.
When we first met Executive Chairman Neil Davidson in 2020, Coda’s presence was already large and growing across Southeast Asia. They were seeing 5M+ monthly users making in-app purchases through 150+ payment methods, looking to move beyond the region to become a global juggernaut in digital content monetization. In just a couple of years, we’ve watched Coda scale for success, chasing over $370B in total addressable volume expected by 2024. Coda now has 100M+ unique users completing over a billion transactions, spanning from its home in Singapore to LatAm, Europe, and 45+ countries today.
While there is much to acclaim, we recognize that Coda’s impact is still in its infancy, with vast opportunities for deeper expansion into existing markets and new ones. With over 25 years of growth stage investing, deep domain expertise in mobile gaming and payments, and a strong presence in Southeast Asia and other key markets, Insight could not be more excited to co-lead Coda’s $690M fundraise alongside Smash Capital and GIC. We look forward to partnering with Neil, CEO Philippe Limes, President Paul Leishman, and the entire Coda team throughout this exciting new phase of growth.
