Google Play Add Banking "Virtual Account" Payment Method

Google introduced virtual accounts (VA) as a new payment method in the Play Store in collaboration with payment gateway DOKU. Now users can buy digital content with virtual accounts Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), and Bank Central Asia (BCA).

Delivered in official blog, the addition of this new payment method is in line with the public's demand for a variety of payment methods. In addition, this update signifies Google's efforts to innovate because it has seen the growth of Play Store transactions over the past few years.

Previously, Google Play had accommodated a number of payment methods, including credit cards, credit deductibles, and several platformmoneyElectronicsfront.

According to Zulfi Rahardian, Head of Google Play Retail and Payments Activation for Southeast Asia, new entertainment content is always emerging and various favorite hobbies are starting to become popular again.

"We continue to strive to provide more payment options that suit user needs and developer in Indonesia. "We hope that users will become more comfortable when purchasing digital content and making transactions," explained Zulfi.

Google revealed that there was a 210% increase in searches for the word "Gaming" in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the Google Year in Search 2022 report, search interest in online games increased 30%. In the same period, the trend of "playing together" aka playing together also took off, as indicated by searches for the word "playing together" which reached more than 80%.

Based on Statista research in 2022, total Games revenue in Indonesia is estimated at $980,9 million, of which the majority comes from revenue in-app purchase (IAP) in the Games segment is projected at $629,6 million.

Meanwhile, total revenue from the Games segment in Indonesia is estimated to reach $1.457 million in 2027 with a CAGR of 7,04% (2022-2027). Total Games content is expected to reach 3,862 million downloads in 2022, with an average revenue per download of around $0,25.