Rakuten Viber, the owner of Viber messaging platform, announces its expansion into fintech with the launch of its new Chatbot Payments feature.

As Cnews.ru reports, users will be able to use the platform for buying goods and services and pay with Google Pay or another native mobile wallet.

Besides messaging, Viber decided to build a service platform catering to all its users’ needs in functionality and safety.

Ukraine will be the first market for the feature launch, and Viber plans to scale it in other markets in 2021, including Russia.

Viber’s Chatbot Payments feature will enable users to purchase the products and services of the merchants securely and directly through their authorized chatbots. If the user’s bank supports it, the user needs to add a credit or debit card to their Google Pay account or smartphone wallet, after which the payment option becomes available for any chatbot built on Viber’s native chatbot application programming interface (API).

On the merchant side, businesses seeking to accept payments through Viber simply connect to a service provider supporting this type of payments, creating a chatbot on Viber and enabling payments on it.

Viber’s chatbot platform has the following advantages.

It is good for business as the Chatbot Payments feature is an easy way for any small, medium, or large enterprises to use Viber as one of the sales channels.

It is scalable as it’s able to quickly enter the market in any country where mobile wallets are available.

It is all-encompassing because end users can now make purchases and pay for services they are using (utility bills, deliveries, transportation, etc.) directly in the messenger

It is secure as all confidential payment information is encrypted and not disclosed to chatbots, Viber, or any third party.

Viber is cooperating with trusted chatbot developers and payment service providers to make this feature available for millions of users across the globe.

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