{"id":4987,"date":"2017-02-24T12:00:56","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/?p=4987"},"modified":"2017-02-24T12:00:56","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T12:00:56","slug":"messaging-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/messaging-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Functionalities of Messaging Apps in Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The role of messaging apps has evolved past that of simply messaging.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, they are incorporated with online payment methods<\/strong> and offline-to-online (O2O) shopping<\/strong> amongst many others.<\/p>\n

At the forefront of such innovation stands WeChat<\/strong> and LINE<\/strong> \u2013 two apps that dominate the messaging activities of the Asian demographic. Beyond visually appealing stickers and a host of memorable cartoon ambassadors, both have ventured into previously unrelated fields<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"messaging

A comparison of features amongst the dominant messaging apps. (PHOTO\/Innovation Is Everywhere)<\/p><\/div>\n

LINE and WeChat have extended their services from the basic functionality of messaging to various payment methods.<\/p>\n

WeChat offers the WeChat Wallet<\/strong>, a platform on which users can order taxis, book movie tickets, check into plane flights and even send red packets under a single integrated user interface<\/strong>.\u00a0 Moreover, the Wallet allows users to make payments with ease in physical stores<\/strong> using the application.<\/p>\n

\"wechat

Steps in using WeChat Wallet for physical store payments : (1) Click on \u2018Quick Pay\u2019 in the main \u2018Wallet\u2019 menu (2) Scan generated QR code and barcode (3) Receive a confirmation message on your payment<\/p><\/div>\n

Moreover, the Wallet offers flexibility of payment<\/strong> by allowing users to pay through WeChat Pay or the \u2018Find a Friend to Pay\u2019 function<\/strong> which allows for the bill to be sent to a friend. They also offer the \u2018Fundraise from Friends\u2019 option<\/strong> to provide for collective group payments under RMB 10,000 or US$1,500.<\/p>\n

\"Wechat

WeChat Pay allows users to make full payment on their own or to split the bill with their friends through the \u2018Find a Friend to Pay\u2019 and \u2018Fundraise from Friends\u2019 options.<\/p><\/div>\n

From LINE comes LINE Pay which, in a similar manner, allows users to register debit and credit cards for peer-to-peer (P2P payments) and LINE Store purchases<\/strong>. It currently allows for easy transfers, splitting of bills as well as the withdrawing of cash<\/strong> since LINE accounts and bank accounts are linked. 1 million accounts have been registered in Thailand<\/strong> since its inception.<\/p>\n

\"Steps

Steps taken in incorporating one\u2019s credit\/debit card with LINE Pay.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"WeChat

WeChat Wallet and Pay can be utilized to make payments for various products and services such as purchases at convenience stores.<\/p><\/div>\n

LINE has also partnered with Japanese credit card company JCB<\/strong> to launch the LINE Pay Card targeted at LINE\u2019s 68 million Japanese users as of March 2016<\/strong>. It operates as a pre-paid card<\/strong> and features attractive designs to appeal to the Japanese market.<\/p>\n

\"Line

The LINE Pay Card – brainchild of LINE and JCB \u2013 features a variety of visually appealing designs catered to the Japanese demographic<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition, the LINE Points feature establishes a point system<\/strong> that rewards users for using LINE services<\/strong>. The user earns 2 points for every 100 yen<\/strong> \u2013 or US$1-\u00a0 spent which is credited to one\u2019s LINE Pay Balance in various increments, coin balance for in-app sticker and LINE Store purchases.<\/strong> Possible developments include P2P transactions<\/strong> and credit transfer<\/strong> from LINE Pay into individual bank accounts.<\/p>\n

Mobile payments have led to greater opportunities in mobile and hyperlocal commerce<\/strong> which involves the integration of offline stores with online digital platforms to enhance customer experience<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

WeChat enables businesses to market products and services to customers through official accounts<\/strong>. With 50% of WeChat\u2019s 700 million users registering their bank cards with the app, this revolutionary method of facilitating transactions has resulted in China\u2019s mobile commerce accounting for nearly 50% of Chinese e-commerce in 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n

WeChat and its 10 million virtual storefronts<\/strong> are one of the largest virtual shopping malls worldwide<\/strong>. It brought in Chinese e-commerce company JD.com<\/strong>, allowing for users to search for products and make purchases in-app.<\/p>\n

Users are shown online merchants<\/strong> as well as physical retail stores<\/strong> with number of products successfully sold and satisfaction levels of other users. This is coupled with the \u2018Quick Buy\u2019 aspect mentioned earlier to allow full purchases on the mobile platform alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By incorporating external e-commerce platforms<\/strong> as well as some of its own \u2013 QQ Wanggou, Paipai and Yixun \u2013 Tencent can channel resources effectively and gain leverage against Alibaba\u2019s e-commerce business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is estimated to process a whopping US$550 billion in payments,<\/strong> taking double the share of PayPal at US$282 million and making it a close rival to Alipay at $519 billion in 2013.<\/p>\n

\"WeChat<\/p>\n

\"WeChat

WeChat incorporates various e-marketplaces onto its platform.<\/p><\/div>\n

Messaging apps \u2013 namely WeChat \u2013 have ventured into unfamiliar territory by releasing investment platform Licaitong in January 2014<\/strong> to compete with Alibaba\u2019s investment fund Yu\u2019E Bao.<\/p>\n

Run by China Asset Management, Licaitong is an opportunity for Tencent to encourage users to link bank accounts with WeChat profiles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Funds are accessible within the messaging app<\/strong> and there are no stipulations in contrast to fixed deposit accounts at conventional Chinese banks<\/strong>. With a backing of US$16.2 billion and an estimated 30 million users, Licaitong is strongly supported by WeChat Pay<\/strong> and its seamless integration of payments.<\/p>\n

\"WeChat

WeChat has ventured from simply providing messaging services to wealth management and investment.<\/p><\/div>\n

LINE has also steered its course into the market of delivery services<\/strong>. The LINE Man<\/strong> was launched in May 2016 and operates as a localized, on-demand service<\/strong>. By partnering with Wongnai, a popular Thailand restaurant review app and Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based start-up that operates as an Uber for motorbike couriers and truck drivers, LINE can utilize Wongnai\u2019s food listings and Lalamove\u2019s delivery services<\/strong> to deliver takeaway meals and products from convenience stores<\/strong> \u2013 by green-jacketed men on scooters.<\/p>\n

\"Line

The LINE Man is currently only available in Bangkok and has adapted its services for the local market.<\/p><\/div>\n

From WeChat and LINE\u2019s ventures, the concept of the messaging app has certainly been reinvented. With continual innovation and development, expect these apps to grow in popularity and function<\/strong> \u2013 their full potentials are yet to be fully realized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The role of messaging apps has evolved past that of simply messaging. Today, they are incorporated with online payment methods and offline-to-online (O2O) shopping amongst many others. At the forefront of such innovation stands WeChat and LINE \u2013 two apps that dominate the messaging activities of the Asian demographic. Beyond visually appealing stickers and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":4999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[75,461,494,171],"tags":[46,146,245,128,65],"class_list":["post-4987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporates","category-east-asia-china-south-korea","category-infographics","category-new-retail","tag-asia","tag-china","tag-corporate-innovation","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}