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Rakuten Viber, a global leader in private and secure messaging and voice-based communication, is expanding into digital payments with a mobile wallet available through the Viber app.
This new function will allow Viber users to easily send money to each other and set up a digital wallet to store money, starting with Euros. It will later expand to include multiple currencies, along with other services.
Rakuten Viber enters the global digital payments market with a worldwide user base of hundreds of millions of consumers and a strong reputation for security rooted in its on-by-default end-to-end encryption for private communications.
Payments on Viber will go live initially in Greece and Germany and then roll out to more countries soon.
“This feauture will allow users can add funds to their digital wallet through Mastercard, Visa Cards, and local banks,” the statement said.
“To provide licensed payment services in the first two markets, Viber has partnered with Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-Service company. Rapyd will embed its licensed payment processing services directly into the Viber app to power the in-app payments capabilities,” it added.
Speaking on the plan, Ofir Eyal, CEO of Rakuten Viber said, “Rakuten Viber is already one of the world’s top messengers, and with fintech capabilities, Viber will extend its utility and value to make it an essential app for its hundreds of millions of users.”
“User-friendly payment features will allow users to effortlessly connect, engage, and transact inside and across borders without ever leaving their preferred messaging platform. Viber’s world-class security and privacy protection joined with the high standards of premium payment service partners, like Rapyd, creates a simple and secure app-based alternative for conducting personal and business transactions,” he added.
Commenting on the partnership with Viber, Arik Shtilman, CEO of Rapyd has said, “We’re thrilled that Rapyd will serve as the licensed cross-border payments solution powering this historic milestone for Rakuten Viber: becoming one of the world’s first messaging platforms to offer secure in-app payments to its global user base.”
“At Rapyd, we build the payments technology that removes the back-end complexities of cross-border commerce and payments. Through this partnership, the combined power of Viber and Rapyd’s leading security and seamlessly embedded payments capabilities means millions of users can feel confident conducting their financial transactions via a single messaging app,” Shtilman further added.