Proximus Global, a leading international communications enabler, has partnered with Vilja, the cloud-native core banking platform, to deliver embedded WhatsApp capabilities to emerging banks across Southeast Asia. The collaboration aims to help rural and cooperative banks expand access to digital financial services across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Messaging-based banking offers a lower-barrier entry point for digital services using platforms customers already rely on daily. It simplifies onboarding and communications for customers from lower-income communities who may lack documentation, digital literacy or access to smartphones capable of running complex apps.
These communities will now be able to perform everyday financial tasks directly through the WhatsApp messaging app. These include opening and viewing accounts, applying for credit cards and digital ID checks. By offering it as an embedded feature within Vilja’s platform, it will benefit tier-2 and tier-3 banks, where building and maintaining full mobile banking apps can be costly and complex.
“This partnership is a major step towards financial inclusion for underserved communities,” said Seckin Arikan, CEO, Proximus Global. “By embedding Route Mobile engagement channels and Telesign’s protection capabilities into the banking core, we will help bank the unbanked. Meeting customers on platforms they already trust is a vital step in delivering accessible and secure financial services to all, regardless of economic status.”
