LONDON: Ding, one of the world’s largest mobile top-up platforms, has partnered with Snapchat to bring its service to the platform as a Snap Mini.
Snap Minis are bite-sized utilities within the app. Developers can design and integrate them within Snapchat to offer everything from gaming to booking tickets.
In a global first, Snapchatters in 15 countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman, can now request a top-up from other users and top-up each other’s phones instantly from within the Ding Mini on Snapchat. The request is shared over Snapchat with friends and family, who can then purchase the top-up on their requester’s behalf in the Ding Mini.
“We are delighted to launch the Ding Prepaid Top-up Gifts Mini in Snapchat. It gives us access to millions of potential new customers who are keen to keep their phones active,” said Ding Chief Commercial Officer Rupert Shaw.
The move comes at a time when social commerce is rapidly growing, with users often making purchases from directly within social apps.
“Younger generations are increasingly looking to avail of new services that help them live more of their lives on one platform,” said Shaw.
With the demand for mobile data ever-increasing, the likelihood of users running out of credit is high. A report from Ericsson suggests that the average monthly data usage per smartphone will reach 35 gigabytes by 2026, up from 10GB currently, added Shaw.
“The Ding Mini makes it easy and fun for Snapchatters to support their friends and stay connected through social commerce, all without leaving Snapchat,” said Alston Cheek, director of platform partnerships at Snap. This is the latest in a string of new commerce experiences in Snapchat, he added.
The service is currently available in eight languages in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia.
