DG Mail
DG Mail is an online magazine that provides you with the latest news from the Digital Garage Group.
If you would like to subscribe to DG Mail, please fill out the form.
As the Act on the Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software—often called the Mobile Software Competition Act (MSCA)—takes effect in December 2025, more domestic app developers are moving to adopt out-of-app payments (a form of third-party payment handled outside app stores). This shift is also prompting interest in expanding the model to international markets. While offering out-of-app payments to overseas users can unlock substantial revenue opportunities, challenges remain, including differences in local regulations and tax requirements across countries and regions.
To explore what must be addressed to bring out-of-app payments overseas, the Tokyo Game Show 2025 TGS Forum held a session in September titled “Expanding Revenue through Out-of-App Payment Solutions for Markets Globally” Junichi Sakishima, Executive Officer at Digital Garage, joined Zac Liew, Chief Commercial Officer at Coda, to discuss the global outlook and key considerations for international expansion.
＊Speakers
Digital Garage
Executive Officer Responsible for Strategic Business Planning / Head of App Business Division
Junichi Sakishima
Junichi Sakishima held roles in startup investments and business development at MITSUI & CO., LTD., based out of Tokyo, New York, and London. He later led the transformation of global supply chain at FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. In 2022, he joined Digital Garage, Inc., where he now serves as a Corporate Officer responsible for new strategic business initiatives, including the launch of the AppPay.
Coda Payments Pte. Ltd.
Chief Commercial Officer（CCO）
Zac Liew
Zac Liew is the Chief Commercial Officer at Coda, driving global growth and partnerships across the digital commerce ecosystem. He leads a sales and partnerships team spanning Los Angeles to Bangkok, focused on scaling publishers and brands with the right payments and routes to market.Before joining Coda, Zac co-founded and led Curlec, a Malaysian payments company that was later acquired by Razorpay.
(Affiliations and titles are as of publication)
Maturity of Japan’s Mobile Game Market and the Expanding Potential for Global Growth
The MSCA, scheduled to take effect on December 18, 2025, introduces new rules for four types of software: mobile OS, app stores, browsers, and search engines. By allowing developers to process payments outside major platforms such as Apple and Google—so-called out-of-app payments—the law is expected to diversify payment options and expand monetization and content delivery models.
Junichi Sakishima of Digital Garage, which develops and operates the out-of-app payment platform “AppPay,” highlights the benefits for developers: “A major advantage is the reduction in fees. In-app purchases typically incur a 30% charge, while using AppPay reduces this to around 5%.”
Behind the growing expectations for out-of-payments payments in the mobile gaming sector are two trends: the acceleration of global expansion and the slowdown of domestic market growth. According to Mobile App Insights 2025 released by Sensor Tower, Japan’s annual mobile game downloads have remained flat at over 600 million since their 2020 peak, signaling a plateau in growth. Meanwhile, in-app purchase revenue consistently exceeds ¥1.6 trillion, making it increasingly important for developers to capture this revenue stream and find pathways to enter expanding overseas markets.
Sakishima notes that “the mobile gaming market is particularly driven by growth in emerging countries, making overseas markets a significant revenue opportunity.” If out-of-app payments become accessible to international users, “the additional revenue can be reinvested into core businesses, enabling publishers to deliver even more enjoyable games to their players,” he explains.
Three Barriers to Introducing Out-of-app Payments for Overseas Users
Despite the opportunities, expanding out-of-app payments globally is difficult for developers to handle on their own. According to Sakishima, there are three major challenges companies typically face when entering international markets.
1. Supporting a wide range of payment methods across countries and regions
As cashless adoption accelerates worldwide, the number of local payment methods continues to multiply in each market. Sakishima notes that it is “extremely difficult for developers to individually contract with all of these payment providers,” and adds that managing operational risks—such as fraud prevention and chargeback handling for each method—creates significant complexity.
2. Navigating local regulations, tax requirements, and customer support
Differences in legal and tax frameworks across countries and regions pose another significant challenge. Even within Japan alone, developers must comply with several regulations—such as the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, the Payment Services Act, and consumer protection laws. Overseas expansion requires understanding and adhering to a separate set of laws in each market.
In addition, companies must handle consumption tax collection and remittance, as well as manage customer support operations in forms appropriate for each locale, adding further layers of complexity.
3. Building a web store and acquiring new users
Even after clearing the regulatory and tax-related hurdles, global expansion is not possible unless overseas users become aware of and actually use out-of-app payments. Beyond simply building a dedicated web store for out-of-app transactions, companies must determine how to effectively attract new users, drive traffic, and operate the store in a sustainable and impactful way.
Three Solutions to Overcome These Challenges
To address these barriers, Digital Garage has launched a service that enables developers to expand overseas through a single, streamlined process. By signing a single agreement with Digital Garage, developers can deploy an out-of-app payment web store for international users via AppPay. Through its partnership with Singapore-headquartered Coda —which has deep expertise in the global distribution and monetization of digital content—AppPay can be offered across over 70 countries worldwide.
Together with Zac Liew, B2B Chief Commercial Officer of Coda, Sakishima outlined how Digital Garage and Coda jointly provide three key solutions to the challenges mentioned above.
1. Supporting the most suitable payment methods in each country and region
Developers can access a wide range of global payment methods through a single agreement. Together, the two companies cover more than 400 payment methods worldwide. Developers can manage their operations as domestic transactions in Japanese, while fraud prevention and chargeback handling are managed by Digital Garage. The service also supports foreign exchange and international remittances, enabling revenue to be settled in Japanese yen.
Liew highlights the importance of supporting diverse payment methods: “In developed markets, credit cards are dominant. But this isn’t the case across most markets in Asia Pacific and Latin America. For example, in Indonesia, one of Coda’s largest markets and one of the most populous countries in the world, under 10% of people have credit cards. Offering e-wallets and other local alternative payment methods significantly expands the addressable market.”
2. Acting as Merchant of Record to manage legal compliance and tax obligations
Through a Merchant of Record (MoR) model, Digital Garage and Coda assume the role of the seller on behalf of digital content publishers and developers, taking responsibility for legal compliance, tax filings, and contractual risks. Given the company’s global operations, partners also have access to around the clock local language customer support for their end users.
Liew explains, “Brazil, for example, has highly fluid tax regulations that change constantly. It is extremely difficult for companies to manage this internally, but we have specialists who oversee these matters from legal and tax perspectives.” He stresses that “cross-jurisdictional compliance is incredibly important.”
3. Strengthening user acquisition through localized content
Beyond system development, the two companies work with developers to design and execute marketing initiatives that guide users from awareness to conversion. This includes building the web store, creating event-linked creatives, and recommending localized content. Sakishima notes that it is essential to “localize content through various channels—mobile carriers, influencers, and in some markets, even offline touchpoints.”
Regarding user acquisition, Liew adds,“We’re backed by over 15 years of experience in international expansion and know that there is no one size fits all solution. We work very closely with partners to engage customers in ways tailored to each specific market, coordinating highly customized, data-driven marketing campaigns that drive both user growth and higher average order value.”
What Drives Success in Out-of-app PaymentsOverseas?
With out-of-app payments expected to expand further into overseas markets, Sakishima shared his perspective on the key factors for success.
“First, when launching a web store that supports out-of-app purchases, it is crucial to make users aware that it is an “official service.” In the past, touchpoints existed only within the app, but now it’s important to expand those connections across official web stores, social media, and other channels. Some publishers are also combining online and offline initiatives to build new relationships with users. In addition, offering exclusive or special items available only through the web store will become increasingly important.”
Liew notes that the success factors vary by market, requiring a careful approach. Based on his experience, he highlights two major elements:
“When considering how to guide users outside the app, the first and most important aspect is the user experience (UI/UX). In certain regions, a feature known as ‘link-out’ allows users to move seamlessly from in-app links to external pages. However, in markets where this is not allowed, reducing friction and keeping the user flow as smooth as possible is essential.
The second factor relates to what we call ‘live operations.’ For titles like Call of Duty®: Mobile:Mobile, which we support, special promotions are used to guide users to out-of-app channels, resulting in high conversion rates. By offering special skills or loyalty programs, these promotions ultimately increase engagement with gamers through out-of-app traffic.”
Summarizing the discussion, Sakishima emphasizes that “global expansion comes with numerous challenges, and it is difficult for companies to manage alone.” He expressed his hopes for further overseas growth of Japanese digital content, noting that Digital Garage and Coda aim to support developers through “three core pillars—global readiness, Merchant of Record functions, and user acquisition capabilities—providing a simple, safe, and reliable way to expand internationally.”
Related news release:
Digital Garage Launches “AppPay” Global Service with MIXI’s Overseas “Monster Strike” Official Web Store（2025/10/23）
Digital Garage Announces the Launch of Global Service for “AppPay,” its Third-Party Payment Platform（2025/9/24）
Global Service of “AppPay”
For Japanese game and app publishers, transactions with Digital Garage reduce the burden of contracting with overseas payment providers and foreign exchange operations. In addition to MoR functions, publishers can also use services such as multilingual/multicultural site development, user support, and marketing/data analysis in Japanese, allowing them to focus on their core businesses, including development and operations.
“AppPay” has already been introduced to more than 50 game titles in Japan, contributing to diversifying payment channels and optimizing revenues. Going forward, starting with the introduction by 2 major game companies, Digital Garage will further expand the service, contributing to revenue growth not only in Japan but also globally. In addition, by providing MoR functions to overseas game and app publishers, the service will expand third-party payments in Japan.