Filenews 21 April 2023
Rakuten Viber, one of the world's leading companies in communicating with personal and secure messages and by voice, announces that Viber Pay will gradually become available to all users in Cyprus who use the latest version of the application. With this new fintech feature, the platform consolidates its position as a super-app and enters the trajectory of impressive growth, offering fast and free money transfers from account to account in real time. Cyprus follows the initial and successful presentation of this operation in Greece and Germany. Since it is a secure, easy to use feature that allows money transfer from country to country, it is expected to be much appreciated by users who have relatives, friends or associates in Greece.
Viber's digital payments were first introduced in the markets of Greece and Germany in the summer of 2022 through a waiting list and fully opened for both markets just before the Christmas holidays. Viber Pay currently allows instant and free transactions between Greece, Germany and Cyprus. Users in Cyprus can send money to each other for free, easily and securely by creating a digital wallet. The wallet is ready in just two minutes and just needs a registration and email confirmation. This process allows transactions of up to €120, but with even more details confirmed, users will be able to send amounts up to €4500. A Viber Pay user can also send money from their wallet to another Viber user even if they don't have a digital wallet. All these features will be available to users in Cyprus within the next few days.
To offer licensed payment services in the first three markets, Viber partnered with Rapyd, an international Fintech-as-a-Service company. Rapyd integrates licensed transaction services directly within the Viber app to enhance the app's payment capabilities. Viber users will have access to a wide variety of additional financial services, including:
● Payments from Viber Wallet to Viber Wallet for domestic transactions with friends and family, instantly and free of charge, even if they do not have a Viber Wallet.
• Viber Pay in chat: Send and receive money within your chat in three simple steps, as simple as sending a photo.
● Bank transfers for easy payment of everyday expenses to any domestic bank such as utility bills.
● Exclusive discounts and rewards: users will receive an exclusive badge for their profile, Viber Out rewards and discounts from partners.
To start using payments on Viber, users need to set up a personal identification code or biometric identification that will ensure the activation of secure transactions. Payment confirmations are automatically sent with end-to-end encryption, like all private Viber communications. So that there are no questions, the Viber support team will be available to answer questions in local languages.
The addition of a seamless payment solution thanks to an in-app wallet provided by licensed financial partners, along with other features to be introduced soon, is a natural progression that upgrades Rakuten Viber to a standalone super-app. Since 2019, Viber users have made millions of peer-to-peer payment transactions in more than ten markets thanks to various integrated third-party services via chatbots and chat extensions.
"Rakuten Viber is already one of the world's leading messengers. Now, with fintech capabilities, Viber will expand its usefulness and value to become an indispensable application for its hundreds of millions of users. User-friendly payment features will allow them to connect, interact and transact effortlessly across borders and borders, without ever leaving their favorite messaging platform," says Ofir Eyal, CEO of Rakuten Viber. "Viber's world-class security and privacy combined with the high standards of payment services of partners like Rapyd creates a simple and secure alternative to conducting personal and business transactions within the app itself."
"We always strive to lead the way in our industry, offering exceptional added value to our core services and more functionality than just messaging. Viber Pay allows users to send money to friends and family within a chat on such a popular communication app in Cyprus. We want to help our Cypriot users save time and effort by allowing them a convenient, fast and secure money transfer service within Viber", comments Ritesh Shah, VP of FinTech and Business solutions at Rakuten Viber.
Who is Rakuten Viber
Rakuten Viber is part of Rakuten Inc., a global leader in e-commerce and financial services. It is the official instant messaging and calling app of the Golden State Warriors.
