nextbike: Innovating transactional use cases with a secure and engaging rich messaging approach
90%
secure delivery rate
Challenge
The need for secure and timely transactional messages
nextbike, a pioneering bike-sharing platform and European market leader strives to make cycling an integral part of urban mobility.
- 90 million kms cycled in 2023
- 20.7 million kg of CO2 saved
With over 45 million rides per year, they needed to ensure the integrity of its rapidly growing user base.
As customer numbers soared, so did the need to keep them informed at every step of the journey with transactional messages such as secure OTPs (one-time password), journey alerts, password reset alerts, reminders, and payment confirmations.
nextbike required a communications partner that could:
- deliver these messages reliably, still
- protect against fraud,
- and enhance the overall customer experience.
As the demand for bike sharing solutions has grown further, ensuring secure and reliable message delivery became a top priority for nextbike. We needed a solution that could handle our scale, securely.”
Tonio Bierhoff
Head of Marketing, nextbike
Importance of timely transactional messages delivery: Timely delivery of messages like OTPs and service-related ones were essential for an uninterrupted user experience. Delays can frustrate customers and lead to abandoned rides or negative consumer experiences.
Need for a verified sender ID and a trusted channel: These transactional messages needed to be delivered from a trusted source to maintain consumer confidence. Verified business profiles, as offered by RCS Business Messaging (RBM), provide an added layer of security and authenticity. Customers were more likely to trust a message from a verified sender, reducing the risk of phishing attacks and fraudulent activity.
However, to do this they need a single communications platform that could reliably send transactional messages over SMS and RBM via secure routes and at the same time ensure there was no artificial inflation of traffic.
Customer trust is paramount to nextbike. Because our bike sharing solutions have to leave a reliable impression to both B2C and B2G (business-to-government) customers. We wanted a communications partner that not only delivered messages safely but also verified our business identity to prevent fraud and build trust.”
Tonio Bierhoff
Head of Marketing, nextbike
Solution
SMS and RBM: A powerful combination for reliable and engaging messages
To overcome these challenges, nextbike partnered with Infobip, due to our leading CPaaS capabilities that provided securely routed SMS and RBM transactional messages in a cost-effective manner.
SMS powered by our platform provided nextbike with a high-performance channel for delivering time-sensitive messages such as OTPs during account creation and password resets, service related notifications, alerts etc. Our extensive network coverage and proven track record of delivering messages at scale meant nextbike could confidently rely on the timely delivery of messages.
In pursuit of an even more engaging customer experience, nextbike adopted RCS Business Messaging. This conversational channel allowed nextbike to send visually rich and interactive transactional messages, strengthening brand identity and enhancing security. To ensure uninterrupted service, SMS remained a reliable fallback option.
SMS provided the reliability and reach we needed, while RBM added a new level of modern engagement and security to our OTP delivery.”
Tonio Bierhoff
Head of Marketing, nextbike
Innovating OTP verifications with RCS Business Messaging
As an early adopter, nextbike quickly saw the potential of RBM. Our strong partnership with major German telcos (Telefonica, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom) and Google helped nextbike reach most Android customers in the region.
In addition, their proactivity in adopting RBM early on ensures they are ready for when Apple will roll out the channel on iOS devices, securing them a reach of 98% of phones in the region.
While SMS continues to stay as a fallback channel, RBM adds an additional layer of branding with:
- Verified sender: nextbike customers can trust that their messages are genuinely from nextbike, reducing the chance of falling for scams and making interactions more secure and reliable.
- Branded messages: Messages now include nextbike’s logo, name, and tagline, making it easy for customers to recognize the brand and boosting overall trust and familiarity.
- Previewing URLs: Any linked content shows a preview of the landing page, making the messages more attractive and helps users know what they’re clicking on, leading to better click-through rates.
- Enhanced accessibility: nextbike can make their business email, phone number, and website details clickable. This “tap-and-go” approach ensures customers can easily access support and information.
- Innovative format: The mix of reliability and rich media added a refreshing modernness to the way transactional messages were sent by nextbike, positioning them as innovators.
Using the combination of the two channels with RBM as the main one is more cost effective than sending SMS messages via direct and secure routes.
Result
Enhanced security, increased branding, and improved user experience
Partnering with our platform yielded exceptional results for nextbike. With a 90% secure SMS delivery rate between 2020 and 2023, the company experienced a significant reduction in support inquiries related to not receiving important messages.
The combination of RBM and SMS created a robust and secure verification process that instilled confidence in customers.
Adopting an omnichannel approach by using RBM as the main channel, with SMS as the failover helped in:
- Reducing costs
- Increasing brand visibility
- Providing an engaging verification experience
By using an innovative channel like RBM, nextbike solidified its position as a leader in the bike-sharing industry. The company’s commitment to customer security and innovation, coupled with our powerful communication solutions, has driven substantial growth and strengthened customer loyalty.
Infobip has been an invaluable partner in our journey in providing innovative customer experiences over RBM and SMS. Their expertise in communication solutions, easy integration and omnichannel capabilities has enabled us to deliver secure experiences for OTP delivery and verification for our users. With an omnichannel approach, and using RCS Business Messaging, we have been able to increase trust with our customers while being able to enrich brand perception.”
Tonio Bierhoff
Head of Marketing, nextbike
Discover how other on-demand businesses achieve results with Infobip
Company Profile
About nextbike
nextbike are pioneers of the mobility revolution. For over two decades, they have been developing innovative bike-sharing solutions for urban and rural areas. Since then, they’ve established bike sharing as an elemental component of public transport in more than 300 locations worldwide.
