Global app goes local: Recap of Rakuten Viber events in Vietnam

Rakuten Viber visited Vietnam to meet with local journalists, brands, and partners and announce the launch of new initiatives to strengthen ties with users and businesses in the country. At the events with media and brands in Hanoi, the company unveiled its strategy to support local communities with innovative and secure communications solutions. 

A key focus for the company, which has been in the market for several years,  is to provide Vietnamese users and brands with innovative products and features that resonate with their daily needs. Rakuten Viber is already collaborating with multiple government services and over 100 leading brands across sectors including telecommunications, financial technology, and aviation. 

App usage is growing in Vietnam, based on advanced security features

Each month, Vietnamese Viber users send 474 million messages, make 16 million calls, and exchange 36 million pictures on the app. Usage numbers continue to grow and are primarily driven by highly dynamic working professionals, with the majority living in big cities and 67% aged 25 to 50. The app provides them with new intuitive tools to organize and summarize chat messages, enhancing their productivity.

Rakuten Viber also provides users with peace of mind by offering end-to-end encryption for all private and group chats as well as private calls. Messages are never stored on Viber’s servers, and connections are secure and HTTPS-only, keeping the user experience safe. This is crucial as security is a growing concern in Vietnam, with 32,265 cyber attack attempts reported in Q1 2024 by the Information Technology and Cyber Security Monitoring Center of Vietnam. Rated among the top three messaging apps for security by the European consumer organization Stiftung Warentest, Rakuten Viber also uses encryption in transit for brand-user chats. These high security standards give users and brands a unique opportunity to communicate with each other in a safe space. 

Trusted and targeted communications for businesses

To further enhance the security of these user interactions, Rakuten Viber recently introduced a secure way for brands to safely share activation passwords (OTP codes). Rakuten Viber will also launch ‘enhanced-protection messages’, which verify that a recipient's number is not connected to fraudulent activity. This feature will be available to Vietnamese brands by Q1 2025 and is especially useful for banks, financial institutions, and companies dealing with sensitive information.

Vietnamese brands also benefit from Viber for Business, a suite of solutions to build tailored customer journeys within the app. These include Viber Advertising to reach and engage target audiences, and Viber Rich Business Messaging for secure and cost-effective one-to-one communication between brands and users. Viber Business Calls provide an ‘in-app call center’ that is accessible and free for customers from anywhere in the world, helping brands create a better customer experience. In Vietnam, key industries using these solutions are travel and hospitality, retail and e-commerce, finance, real estate, logistics, and transportation. During the presentations, the Rakuten Viber team showed how to use Viber for Business to elevate the brand's mobile marketing strategy.

“Vietnam is one of the most developed countries in the world when it comes to smartphone usage, and messaging is a crucial element of day-to-day communications”, says David Hoang, Business Development & Sales Manager for Vietnam at Rakuten Viber. “We look forward to working closely with consumers and businesses in Vietnam, to create an experience that is built on a maximum of security and brings value to both with innovative solutions. These help users to communicate freely and safely, and businesses to engage efficiently and securely with them.”