Rakuten Viber celebrates 1M active wallets with launch of new payment capabilities
As users climb, Viber Payments is redefining the mobile wallet experience with group payments and gamified referrals
LUXEMBOURG. December 13, 2023 - Rakuten Viber, the global leader in private and secure messaging and voice-based communication, celebrates reaching one million active Viber Payments users within less than a year of the service’s introduction. This milestone, the latest notable achievement on Viber’s journey to superapp status, coincides with the debut of two new features and a preview of more exciting advances expected in 2024.
Launched in January 2023, Viber Payments has swiftly emerged as one of Europe’s most popular mobile payment options. Viber Payments makes it a simple and secure way to instantly transfer funds to one another for free within the app and enables international licensed payments within the app.
Now functioning fully as a superapp, Rakuten Viber introduces two new features to Viber Payments:
Group payments: Users in a group now have more hassle-free options for splitting bills. Group payments make it effortless to split the cost of a shared dinner out or other special occasions like birthdays, parties, gifts, and more.
Referrals: In response to its overwhelming popularity in Greece and Cyprus, Viber’s program that rewards users with €5 for successful Payments referrals is rolling out in Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia and Lithuania. Viber users in Greece and Cyprus will also have the opportunity to win up to €50 for a successful referral.
Looking ahead to 2024, Viber Payments is focused on delivering useful features that make payments easier. The first of these will be a simple and instant solution for paying utility bills. This feature will launch in Greece in the first quarter of 2024, before expanding to more countries.
Group payments will be launched in every country where Viber Payments is available, including Greece, Germany, Croatia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia, and Cyprus. In response to popular demand, Rakuten Viber plans to bring Viber Payments to more markets in 2024 with even more exciting functionality.
For more information on Viber Payments, visit our blog post here.
About Rakuten Viber
Rakuten Viber connects people. No matter who they are or where they are from. The global user base has access to a range of features like one-on-one chats, video calls, group messaging, and updates and discussions with their favorite brands and celebrities. Rakuten Viber ensures users have a secure and free environment to share their emotions. Rakuten Viber is part of Rakuten Group, Inc., a world leader in e-commerce and financial services.
Leadership
Ofir Eyal, the CEO of Rakuten Viber, is a Viber veteran as he first joined the company in 2014 as the Vice President of Product before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2019. Prior to joining Viber, Ofir previously held the position of Product Manager at Citi Innovation Lab, where he worked on Citibank’s flagship mobile trading app for its institutional customers worldwide. In his previous roles at Viber, Ofir focused on user experience, customer success, content, and localization. As CEO, Ofir leads Rakuten Viber’s ambitious campaign of product development and discovers new markets and business opportunities as the company further establishes itself as a major, innovative player in the global messaging market.
