Meta Teams With Vonage for Messaging-Based Payments in Singapore

Meta is continuing its expansion in Singapore via a partnership with Vonage.

The collaboration lets WhatsApp users in the Asian country make payments using Meta’s WhatsApp service, according to a Wednesday (May 17) press release.

“With this new capability, Vonage Conversational Commerce, powered by Jumper.ai, enables businesses and consumers to benefit from seamless, end-to-end shopping experiences, from discovery to engagement and payments, all within WhatsApp,” Vonage said in a news release.

Conversational Commerce, according to the release, lets brands create “omnichannel, messaging-first” buying experiences for customers across a range of platforms, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Apple Business Chat, Instagram, Twitter and SMS.

“As messaging becomes more important to consumers across the globe as a quick and direct way of connecting with their favorite brands, Vonage’s application meets the needs of major global brands, helping them to connect with consumers, while also turning these conversations into richer AI-enabled customer experiences,” the company said.

The partnership follows last week’s announcement that WhatsApp had teamed with Stripe to help businesses in Singapore accept payments in WhatsApp chats without having to go to another website, open an app or pay in person.

“Starting today, people in Singapore can pay their local merchants on WhatsApp in just a few taps,” Meta Head of FinTech Stephane Kasriel said. “This seamless and secure experience will transform the way people and businesses in Singapore connect on WhatsApp.”

The option to enable payments on WhatsApp is open to a small number of businesses in Singapore now but will be expanded to many more in the coming months, the release said.

PYMNTS also reported earlier this month that Meta wants to capitalize on an increase in chat-based ordering, part of a broader trend of companies using messaging to drive sales.

Last summer, the tech giant invested in Take App, a Singapore-based startup that offers conversational commerce solutions for restaurants and other businesses selling via WhatsApp.

The startup was launched by former Meta employee Youmin Kim, who had worked as a partner engineering manager at Facebook. It offers an order form for sellers as well as order management and analytics tools.

Meta has also recently begun allowing WhatsApp users in Brazil to use the messaging app to pay local businesses in that country.

“We’re always working on new ways to unlock the potential of payments on WhatsApp,” Kasriel told PYMNTS in an interview in May 2022.