"Ebanx (EBANX) serves as a bridge for Asia-Pacific (APAC) corporations to enter high-growth markets. Our goal is to become a trusted growth partner for Korean corporations as they expand into emerging markets."
Sean Yu, Ebanx APAC Commercial vice president, stated the company's ambitions for entering the Korean market accordingly. Founded in 2012 in Brazil, Ebanx is a global payment technology company. It helps corporations around the world reach consumers in emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Ebanx supports hundreds of local payment methods. It collaborates with global corporations in a wide range of digital services, including online retail, gaming, software as a service (SaaS), and streaming.
Partner corporations include Gravity Game Vision, the Hong Kong branch of Korean global gaming corporation Gravity (Gravity), HYBE(352820)'s global fandom community platform Weverse, the online graphic design and document creation platform Canva (Canva), AliExpress, and the cross-border payment platform XTransfer, among more than 100 others.
After earning a bachelor's degree from Shandong University, Vice President Yu completed a master's in economics at Syracuse University and an MBA (Master of Business Administration) at the University of Pittsburgh. Yu later worked at Visa and Mastercard and now handles business development, key account management, and merchant support for Ebanx in the China region.
Estelita Hass, Ebanx's market intelligence senior manager, worked as a journalist for more than 10 years at major media outlets in Brazil. At Ebanx, she publishes data-driven Ebanx reports. The following is a Q&A with Vice President Yu and Senior Manager Hass.
─What markets are you focusing on in Korea?
"We see games, entertainment and fandom platforms, and consumer goods and lifestyle brands with high potential for overseas expansion as key sectors. Our collaboration with Weverse shows how local payment methods can contribute to monetizing the global fandom of Korean entertainment platforms. In Mexico, Weverse users can purchase goods or VOD content via OXXO Pay without a credit card or bank account.
New opportunities are also emerging in Latin America for Korean consumer goods brands, including K-beauty. For Korean corporations with competitive products and cultural influence to convert overseas demand into actual sales, payment infrastructure that local consumers can use is necessary."
─What business would you like to pursue in Korea?
"Ebanx's goal is to become the long-term global growth partner for Korean merchants. The key is to support Korean corporations in localizing their payment strategies for each market as they expand into Latin America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.
Korean digital corporations can offer local payment methods widely used in each market and manage multiple markets in an integrated way through Ebanx's payment infrastructure. Ebanx aims to help Korean corporations expand their businesses across multiple emerging markets rather than being limited to a specific country."
─What opportunities do Korean corporations have?
"They can increase sales in markets with strong demand for Korean products and content. The key is localization. Corporations that tailor pricing policies, checkout pages (the final purchase web page), and payment methods to local consumer habits can reach a much broader customer base and improve conversion rates.
This is even more important in sectors where Korean corporations are competitive, such as gaming, entertainment, digital services, and beauty. Korean merchants should view payments not just as an operational function but as part of their market entry and growth strategy."
─What are the differences between digital consumers in Korea and emerging markets?
"As a mature digital market, Korea is seeing online consumption gradually skew older. Emerging markets are driven by younger consumers. In the Philippines, consumers aged 15 to 30 account for 37% of online education spending and 30% of streaming and gaming spending. In Nigeria, consumers under 30 account for about 70% of online spending in gaming and mobility.
In Korea, the middle class accounts for 35% of online expenditure, while high-income earners account for 23%. In other words, Korea's digital economy is one where digital consumption by the middle class is already deeply entrenched and the consumer base is aging.
By contrast, emerging markets are seeing their digital economies grow around young consumers and middle classes with mid-to-lower incomes. For Korean corporations seeking to enter emerging markets with many young consumers, Ebanx can serve as a bridge."
─What efforts is Ebanx making to enter the Korean market?
"Ebanx is expanding its market base through collaboration with Korean corporations. We also held an event in Jeju this year. The event brought together global merchants, payment experts, and digital economy leaders to discuss consumer behavior in emerging markets. We are also increasing awareness and networks within Korea's gaming ecosystem by participating in major industry events such as G-Star (STAR), a game expo held in Busan.
As more Korean corporations express interest in collaborating with Ebanx, various business opportunities are taking shape. Demand is particularly strong in digital fields such as video games, ticketing, and K-pop fan platforms. We expect to sign contracts with several Korean corporations by the end of this year."
─What is Ebanx's goal?
"We plan to strengthen relationships with existing Korean merchants and build new partnerships with Korean corporations. In the long term, Ebanx aims to expand the Korean merchant base across industries seeking global growth—such as gaming, entertainment, digital services, and beauty—by leveraging APAC infrastructure and an emerging markets payment network."