NetEase Games Club Taps EBANX to Unlock Local Payments for Latin American Gamers

Global payments fintech EBANX has partnered with NetEase Games Club to integrate local payment methods across five major Latin American markets. For fintech professionals, this move highlights the critical role of alternative payment rails in capturing high-growth emerging markets where traditional credit card penetration remains low but digital gaming consumption is rapidly outpacing mature Western economies.

What was announced

The collaboration enables NetEase Games Club, the official top-up destination for NetEase Games titles, to offer a localised checkout experience across the Latin American region. In the initial rollout, players in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Peru can access widely used local payment methods alongside traditional debit and credit cards. Specific integrations include the instant payment system Pix in Brazil, SPEI in Mexico, PagoEfectivo in Peru, and the digital wallet Mercado Pago across the entire region.

The scale of the opportunity is significant; these five markets are projected to generate USD 8.4 billion in video game revenues by 2026. Brazil alone, the region's largest market, is expected to reach USD 3.8 billion this year. The necessity for local payment methods is driven by a stark gap in financial inclusion: while over half of the population aged 15 and over has made digital payments, only one in four adults in Latin America possesses a credit card. In Mexico, credit card access is as low as 33%, while in Brazil, approximately 60 million people do not have one.

Data indicates that closing this payment gap yields immediate commercial results. EBANX merchants have seen revenue increases of up to 37% within six months of integrating Pix. Similar trends are seen in Mexico, where SPEI integration has driven uplifts of up to 46% within three months, and in Peru, where PagoEfectivo has boosted revenue by up to 19% within a single month. This infrastructure is vital for a region home to 372.3 million gamers, where 69% of the online population plays games on at least one platform.

"The next wave of video game growth is coming from emerging markets, and Latin America is leading it. By combining cards with the local payment methods players actually use, NetEase Games Club is building a truly localised checkout experience, and unlocking access to a much larger share of the region's revenue potential."

Sean Yu, VP of Commercial for APAC at EBANX.

The companies involved

EBANX is a global technology company that specialises in cross-border payment solutions tailored for emerging markets. The firm has established a significant presence in the Asia-Pacific region, maintaining its APAC headquarters in Singapore and an additional office in Shanghai. EBANX holds a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence in Singapore, positioning it as a compliant gateway for Chinese and broader APAC companies seeking to enter markets across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In 2025, the company recorded a 48% growth in total payment volume (TPV), its highest to date, largely driven by APAC merchants expanding their international footprints.

NetEase Games is a major player in the global gaming sector, with NetEase Games Club serving as the official platform for players to purchase content and top up their accounts for various titles. The partnership with EBANX allows the company to navigate the complexities of the Latin American financial landscape, where account-to-account systems like SPEI and cash-based methods like PagoEfectivo are often preferred over traditional banking products. This expansion is part of a broader movement of APAC companies seeking new growth corridors in response to market saturation in their home regions.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has extensively tracked EBANX’s expansion and its focus on alternative payment methods. In April 2026, the company expanded its recurring alternative payments offering, targeting a potential user base of one billion across 12 emerging markets. More recently, the firm has focused on specific regional optimisations, such as when EBANX and Kunfupay drove 46% revenue growth in Peru via a one-click checkout system. The company’s geographic reach continues to widen, as seen in the announcement where EBANX expanded to Pakistan and launched native Apple Pay decryption for its global merchant partners.

What this means

This partnership underscores the growing dominance of the "APAC-to-LatAm" corridor in the digital economy. As domestic markets in Asia reach saturation, the ability for gaming giants to export their ecosystems depends entirely on local payment interoperability. Traditional global payment processors are under increasing pressure to match the deep, localized integration offered by specialists like EBANX, particularly as systems like Pix and SPEI become the default consumer choice. The move also raises questions for the broader fintech sector about the longevity of credit-card-centric models in regions where account-to-account (A2A) transfers have achieved near-total adult adoption in just a few years.