Vai de Bus: Revolutionizing public transportation ticketing with conversational commerce via Payments on WhatsApp
98%
of passengers opt-in to payment method
85%
conversion rate for Payment on WhatsApp purchases
17%
growth in recurring purchases
Challenge
Simplifying public transportation ticketing in Brazil
Every day, 33 million Brazilians rely on public transportation to navigate their cities. However, their daily commute is often marred by long queues at ticket counters with limited-service hours. In some cases, these counters only accept cash, adding another layer of inconvenience.
Vai de Bus, an innovative startup in the urban and road transportation sector, is passionate about transforming the daily experience of millions of Brazilians who rely on public transportation.
They envisioned a future where buying tickets wouldn’t involve frustrating queues, limited hours, or the need for physical cash. By making it easy, secure, and accessible – all through a channel everyone already uses: WhatsApp.
Vai de Bus already used WhatsApp Business Platform to enable passengers to reserve tickets and recharge their travel cards. This eliminated the need for additional app downloads or registrations, perfectly aligning with their goal of providing a seamless journey.
Today 99% of Brazilian phones have WhatsApp installed. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to create a new app to buy tickets and recharge transportation cards. We joke that we use a super app in our solution – and one that is already installed on your phone. You don’t need to download it, you don’t need to register, you don’t need to do anything else and even so you are already enabled to use Vai de Bus anywhere in Brazil.”
Fernando Souza
Founder and CTO, Vai de Bus
However, the payment step presented a significant hurdle.
Here’s why:
- Security concerns: Brazilians are still getting used to registering their credit / debit cards in WhatsApp and keeping sensitive data on the channel.
- Friction with PIX codes: PIX is Brazil’s popular instant payment method. However, sending PIX codes via text messages often results in broken links or user confusion when copying the complex payment information. This created friction and ultimately lost sales.
The copy and paste of PIX was always a problem – you end up losing 3 to 4 sales before the user can make the transaction.”
Fernando Souza
Founder and CTO, Vai de Bus
What is PIX?
PIX is an instant payment system created by Brazil’s Central Bank. It allows people and businesses to send and receive money electronically in Brazilian Reals (BRL) in just seconds, 24/7. It doesn’t require full bank account details to be shared.
Fernando continues, “We knew PIX was the preferred payment method. We envisioned a solution that seamlessly integrated PIX transactions within Payments on WhatsApp, offering a simple and familiar experience.”
This passenger-centric approach drove their search for a communications partner that could complete the entire conversational experience loop and would enable payments in a convenient and secure manner over WhatsApp.
The need was clear: find a conversational customer experience platform that would co-create with them to offer a secure and user-friendly payment option that leveraged the power of PIX within the familiar environment of WhatsApp. Enter Infobip.
Solution
Co-creating a passenger-centric conversational commerce experience
At Infobip, we understood that a pre-built solution wouldn’t suffice. Vai de Bus’ vision for a frictionless passenger experience demanded a more innovative approach. This is where our technological prowess and their vision came together to co-create a solution.
We joined forces with Vai de Bus and Meta, forming a development team focused on a single goal: integrating PIX payments within WhatsApp Payments.
How was this done?
Leveraging our WhatsApp APIs: Vai de Bus appointed us as their official Meta solutions provider, gaining access to our entire suite of WhatsApp features, including buttons, lists, templates, Flows, and crucially – Payments.
Going beyond pre-built solutions: Together, we embarked on a three-month co-creation journey with Meta to develop a custom API integration. This integration replaced the clunky text message with PIX codes within a native WhatsApp payment message.
Building a user-friendly flow: Here’s how the improved passenger journey unfolds on WhatsApp:
- Choose your top-up amount: The passenger interacts with a WhatsApp list, selecting their desired top-up amount for the transportation card.
- Secure payment options: A clear and familiar payment screen appears, offering both credit/debit card and PIX payment options.
- Effortless PIX payment: Selecting PIX brings up a secure payment message within WhatsApp. The user can review all transaction details and simply click a button to copy the entire PIX code – no more broken links or typos.
- Confirmation made easy: The integration also includes an API call that ensures the user receives confirmation upon successful PIX payment completion.
This co-created solution addressed both security concerns and passenger experience challenges. As Fernando Souza, Vai de Bus’ Founder and CTO, emphasizes, “Our customers rely on a smooth and efficient service. The strong partnership with Infobip has ensured a seamless user experience and a reliable foundation for our future growth.”
By working together, we made the vision of conversational commerce for Vai de Bus into a reality.
Result
98% of passengers opt-in to this transformative conversational commerce option
Within a single month, over 60,000 PIX transactions streamed through the platform, a clear indicator of user adoption. And just seven months later, Vai de Bus reached the milestone of 1 million transactions streamed through the platform! PIX transactions soared to a staggering 98% of all ticket purchases on Vai de Bus.
- Frictionless transactions: The new integration slashed transaction times by 12-15%, a significant improvement for busy commuters.
- Recurring purchases: A 17% growth in recurring passenger highlights the convenience and positive experience they were having.
- Sales surge: Sales jumped by 8%, demonstrating the direct correlation between a smooth passenger journey and increased business growth.
- Loyalty boost: An impressive 85% conversion rate for repurchases using Payments on WhatsApp speaks volumes about the loyalty fostered by this innovative solution.
The partnership between Meta, Vai de Bus and Infobip has already transformed more than 1 million transactions into a simpler, safer and more intuitive experience for over 200,000 passengers across Brazil. And that number is destined to grow in the future. We empowered them with a faster, more secure, and undeniably convenient way to purchase tickets – all within the familiar environment of WhatsApp.
Our customer buys a ticket because they need to work, go to the doctor or for some appointment. In other words, our operation is very sensitive and that’s why I have to have a very well-structured relationship with my providers. And today I have a very good relationship with Infobip, which flows very well. We haven’t had any problems since we started working with them and this partnership has everything to last.”
Fernando Souza
Founder and CTO, Vai de Bus
Discover how other businesses achieve results with Infobip
Company Profile
About Vai de Bus
Vai de Bus is a startup looking to change the way people connect. With a fluid journey, the Vai de Bus team seeks to deliver the best experience for buying public transportation tickets in several cities in Brazil – always with security, integration and innovation.
