Rakuten has announced the launch of a new Viber feature called business calls, which is now available for Ukrainian companies. This feature is positioned as a new tool for communication between businesses and their customers in the app.

“Brands are getting a new convenient channel for contacting customers. Users will be able to make free calls to landlines and short numbers of companies in the Rakuten Viber app from anywhere, even from abroad,” Rakuten said in a statement.

Business calls in Viber are an addition to the business messages available in the app. They allow customers to choose the channel through which they want to contact the brand.

“Companies, in turn, get a new tool to efficiently process customer requests in a convenient place, which ultimately improves customer experience,” Rakuten Viber added.

All business calls will be free for Rakuten Viber users, regardless of their location. Companies will be able to connect their regular call center number to Rakuten Viber or assign a new one.

Some companies in Ukraine have already enabled business calls with the help of Rakuten Viber’s official partners. Among them are Oschadbank, which became the first bank in the world to add a new communication channel in cooperation with GMS (Global Message Services), the pharmacy chain “Bazhayemo Zdorovya” in partnership with SMSBAT, and others.