Jkos Network Co (街口金融科技) on Friday last week launched its Jello app to boost online transfers by collaborating with its electronic payment service, Jkos Pay (街口支付).
People who have Jkos Pay accounts would be able to send money via Jello to people who also have Jkos Pay accounts, Jkos Network chairman Kevin Hu (胡亦嘉) told a news conference in Taipei.
The company does not charge fees for money transfers, as it wants to encourage people to use the service and build its user base, Hu said, adding that messaging apps offer a convenient platform for digital money transfers.
The company expects to see monthly transfers double from NT$801 million (US$26.4 million) in October to more than NT$1.6 billion in the short term and NT$5 billion sometime next year, he said.
Money transfers are expected to play an increasingly vital role in fueling the electronic payment industry’s development, as it has great potential for growth, Hu said.
Jkos Pay has about 1 million active monthly users, he said.
The number of Jello users is expected to grow to at least 3 million after the Lunar New Year holiday next month, following a promotional campaign, he said.
Asked about Line Pay’s recent announcement that it is to form a cross-border payment alliance with peers in Japan, Thailand and South Korea, Hu said that Jkos Pay has also partnered with foreign peers that have sizeable consumer bases to enable people to use its services overseas, likely beginning with Japan.
Details would be released next month, he said.
If Jello runs smoothly in Taiwan, the company might introduce it to Southeast Asia, he said.
Jello is expected to attract attention from students and young people, as it has unique features compared with other messaging apps, Hu said.
The app can play voice messages automatically and continuously, and allows users to create personalized stickers and leave group conversations without notifying others, he said.
Moreover, users of Jello would only receive messages from friends and would get no unsolicited marketing material, he added.
“Messaging apps should be for communication between friends or to make friends,” Hu said.
Although competition among messaging apps remains tense, it is not a zero-sum game, he said, adding that many young people use more than two messaging apps.
“No single messaging app can take the lead forever. We aim to offer better apps to gradually catch up with our rivals,” Hu said.
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