Japanese messaging platform Viber launches in-app e-wallet

Japanese e-commerce behemoth Rakuten’s messaging app Viber now comes with an in-app Payments capability. Rakuten, for some time now, has been dabbling in fintech by launching services like money transfer and chatbot payments in many countries.

By turning Viber into an e-wallet app, Rakuten is doubling up its strategy.

The Payments mechanism is tied to Viber accounts and linked to bank accounts Visa & Mastercard, and Payments wallets. It can be used to make bill payments to buy goods, and transfer money to others.

According to sources, peer-to-peer transfers will be the first feature to launch and it will be free. Services like payments to businesses are likely will have some fee attached.

The service is being launched initially in Germany and Greece; with the plan to cover the rest of Europe later. Viber’s wider global footprint of 180 countries, will follow in the grand expansion plan after that.

Greece is what Rakuten describes as a “purple country,” where Viber is installed on the phones of 91% of smartphone users in the country, working out to 7 million Viber users in a population of 10.7 million, thus making P2P transfer viable. There is an option to transfer money to non-Viber users, but it is less seamless.

Germany, meanwhile, has just 3 million Viber users, but it is described as a “strong corridor” for transfers to Greece. Viber happened to win a security award in Germany recently, and stated that the “brand perception is strong.”

For now, Viber’s pre-existing payment services — such as chatbot payments — will continue to stay where they are life, mainly in Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

To date, these have facilitated millions of transfers, but as Payments expands, they will gradually be wound down, with Payments functionality replacing them.

Viber has a large team of engineers working on its app — in addition to voice and video calls and text messaging, it provides a complement of other media and third-party integrations for users.