Viber eyes launch of payment feature in PH next year

Filipinos will be able to pay their online purchases next year via messaging platform Viber, which is positioning itself as a utility super app amid the growing use of digital channels to accomplish tasks.

According to Cristina Constandache, global chief revenue officer at Rakuten Viber, the payment feature is currently in its “meta version” in Greece.

“Depending on how it goes, we’re aiming to extend the list of countries, Philippines being the main one,” she said at a press briefing in Makati on Thursday.

Constandache said they would be talking with local financial institutions to roll out the feature and help the company with the regulatory guidelines.

Top market

The platform was keen on providing new features in the Philippines as it is Viber’s top market in Southeast Asia, Constandache said, noting the country’s high app penetration and big market size. The country also accounts for about 30 percent of Viber interactions in Asia.

The payment feature is just one of the business messaging services Viber offers.

Viber also allows businesses to manage bookings, orders and deliveries; provide after-sales support; and collect feedback, among others.

“Our idea is really to make one channel, get in touch with the brands and the users can really reply like they can converse with their friends and family. This is why we are creating a full suite of features,” said Viber senior director for global sales Etienne Dupont.

Viber senior partnership manager Berina Tanovic said 51 percent of brands using Viber business messages in the Philippines were in the retail sector. This was followed by finance and hospitality and travel.

“They’re (retailers) sending different kinds of promotional offers, transactional offers. They are using Viber business messages to cover customer care use cases,” Tanovic said.

Customer engagement

Constandache underscored the importance of having an open line with customers as it would boost loyalty with the brands.

“Customers [who] can have a response from the business they are interacting with tend to come back over and over again and the engagement is much higher,” she said.

Last month, Viber introduced in the Philippines free 30-minute calls to landlines and mobile phones per month.