SA car owners can now renew their license disks via Whatsapp

South African vehicle owners can now save time and avoid long queues when renewing their license disks using Infobip’s ‘Chatback’ function on WhatsApp. 1.6 billion people in over 180 countries in the world use WhatsApp, this means that it’s the world’s most used chat app. “Everyone uses WhatsApp. If you can have single destination overtime where you can take care of services conveniently, we believe that’s the future,” said CEO of Chatback, Johan Kotzé. Infobip has taken advantage of these functions to create a Chatback service that allows South African drivers to renew their license disks on WhatsApp.

According to Infobip, the service is available to all South Africans who have WhatsApp installed on their smartphones. Craig Greenwood Selby, Infobip’s MD in South Africa, said this service has already had a great impact on South Africans.“We see many use cases for WhatsApp Business API, but we are always on the lookout for those that are special and can change people’s lives. There are many regular payment platforms and apps, but when we established what ChatFin wanted to achieve, we were extremely excited as it opens up a brand-new market for ‘convenience’ in South Africa,” he said.

If your license disk has expired, you can visit the ChatBack website, or add ChatBack (+27 66 202 6685) as your contact and then text “renew” over WhatsApp to get started. There are four steps to follow: (1) Submitting your registration number, (2) Getting a quote and making the payment, (3) Delivery address & submission of documentation, this includes a fixed delivery fee of R199 and (4) Status updates and other vehicle license renewal. WhatsApp’s channel verification (a green checkmark) helps users quickly recognize verified dialogue with businesses and organizations. This eliminates the risk of chatting to fraudulent businesses and ensures that users are communicating to the right people. The service is currently available in Gauteng and parts of the Western Cape.