Today, you cannot talk about digital communications without mentioning the phenomenon of messaging apps. The messaging apps market has evolved rapidly in recent years, as has the number of users. The number of active monthly users of messaging apps in 2015 even exceeds the number users of social networks when you look at the top four apps in each category.
Messaging apps enable one-to-one or one-to-many (groups) communications and differ from text messaging as they are often faster and cheaper. They also deliver a more enjoyable digital experience. While the main function of exchanging messages has been enhanced with further developments such as payments or advertising, company employees have also adopted messaging apps to communicate internally or to be reached by clients. However, even if these tools are useful while providing efficiency and enabling collaboration, they remain detrimental to business due to the lack of security and auditability.
So, how can companies in regulated industries such as financial services take advantage of messaging apps, particularly in Asia, a region where these tools are one of the most used communication channels?
The worldwide market for messaging apps in 2016 is expected to reach nearly 2.5 billion users with at least one messaging app installed, and should rise to 3.6 billion – about half of the global population within a couple of years, according to The Economist. In Asia, the global penetration of mobile social media is up 39% in just one year, with 1.36 billion users.
Globally, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are still the most widely used social media services; however, a focus on the Asia-Pacific region does not paint the same picture. WeChat (806 million monthly active users) is by far the most popular with the vast majority of users coming from China, LINE in Japan (218 million monthly active users) or Kakao Talk in South Korea (40 million users). These apps have distinct business and cultural advantages, by understanding the local market’s needs and adapting to specific languages, and are often boosted by local government. For example, WeChat was launched in 2011 in China when Facebook Messenger faced public regulation and was blocked by the Chinese government.
Due to the quick evolution and potential of the Asian market, brands have gone beyond the primary function of exchanging messages and communicating. These apps are now centralised platforms for users to have access to many features and services, integrated into every aspect of customers’ daily lives. For example, WeChat was a pioneer and introduced payments and commerce services such as ordering transport, transferring money or enabling marketing content creation for brands.
Messaging apps have also become one of the favourite tools of consumers for business purposes as they offer an easy and efficient alternative to email. Companies’ staff can communicate, share files without having to deal with long email exchanges or get distracted by spam and junk mail.
Using common and preferred messaging apps that people use in their daily lives to communicate with friends is also a faster and more convenient way to reach young and digitally savvy clients such as millennials who prefer this method of communication. Messaging apps can be seen as a powerful means to increase a company’s sales if leveraged appropriately. Customers are now used to communicating over different channels in real life, and businesses must adapt to this trend to serve the preferences of their customers.
However, most popular messaging apps used for business have an undeniable flaw: security. These applications are consumer-focused and most of them do not have data encryption which can lead to malicious third party hacking and stealing or disclosing sensitive information which is very risky in the corporate environment. However, some apps such as WhatsApp or Kakao Talk now provide end-to-end encryption to ensure that messages sent between users cannot be read by anyone else. But this is not the main reason why consumer messaging apps cannot be used for corporate purposes.
Consumer messaging apps cannot be used at work because they are not recorded. Unmonitored use of consumer apps in an enterprise can create security concerns which run up against corporate regulatory compliance. This is all the more relevant in the financial services sector where clients have high digital expectations and demand more convenient ways to digitally deal with their banks or insurance companies. And if a company has been proven to use forbidden messaging apps, it risks significant fines from regulatory institutions.
Moreover, messaging apps at work can present operational risks and inconvenience as some of these apps don’t integrate with other business software; it can be difficult to transfer data from one channel to another and it can be difficult to keep track of clients’ cross-channel interactions.
Giving up the idea of using these popular communication channels to reach customers because it’s not secured could prove to be a big loss in terms of sales generation, revenue and even internal collaboration for companies.
Some business messaging apps with security features now exist. But either companies do not implement them or people still prefer to use apps they’re used to because they’re more convenient, free, accessible from any device and enable them to work from home. One of the biggest challenges for the messaging app market is to become secure and trusted for corporate applications while meeting all the requirements of basic consumer apps, e.g., convenience, velocity, low price and free access.
One easy and ccost-effectivesolution would be to implement security for all existing consumers’ preferred apps for use in the corporate world securely, seamlessly and compliantly. APrivacy’s technology answers this need with its new “Secure Messaging” solution. If you would like to learn more about our products, please contact us.
Digital Security Perfected – APrivacy Ltd. is an award-winning company which combines military-grade data security with a seamless user experience on any platform, any device, anywhere. APrivacy Ltd.’s enabling technology now allows the financial services industry to confidently communicate with clients using their favourite channels leading to increased revenues and reduced costs while meeting the strictest regulatory requirements.
