Although super apps are not yet known in the Western world, in Asia, they have become increasingly prominent in recent years. Millions of people across the continent now use them on a regular basis, so it’s no wonder that the West has become more interested in them. But what are super apps? Here, we take a closer look at what the term means.
What Is a Super App?
Super apps are applications that gather on their platform numerous services and features, typically through a single company’s payment system. In the West, the market is currently still dominated by single-purpose, standalone apps. However, super apps are a one-stop-shop alternative that allows users to complete several tasks through one convenient portal so that they can complete multiple tasks with no need to switch apps.
Some Examples of Super Apps
There are numerous well-known super apps across Asia including:
- Shopee – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines
- Grab – Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
- Kakao – Korea
- Line – Japan
- WeChat – China
- Gojek – Indonesia
- Paytm – India
Although there are no Western super apps yet, it’s likely that Amazon USA will become one soon.
What Common Services Do Super Apps Offer?
Super apps tend to offer 10 common services including:
- Social tools for communication, sharing, and collaboration.
- Ecommerce for online shopping.
- Food delivery for making ordering groceries and meal deliveries online.
- Transportation services for ride-hailing, car, scooter, and bike-sharing.
- Personal finance tools including daily expense budgeting and banking.
- Travel services including flight and hotel booking and comparison tools, train scheduling and ticket purchasing.
- Bill payments.
- Healthcare services including booking appointments, making telehealth calls, managing medical records, and getting general health information.
- Insurance tools including coverage options, payment history, and insurance card and contact details.
- Public and government services including library and social security cards and payment options for public transport.
Most super apps have their own payment method, and they are rapidly becoming a form of a digital wallet.
Getting Help from A Language Service Provider
For companies creating a brand-new super app, it’s likely that at least two languages will be required for the application – English and the official language. A multilingual fintech solution is particularly important when expanding super apps to countries with multiple languages.
For companies with existing super apps that want to expand their reach overseas, app localisation services will be required to localise both the app and its website to the target market’s language in order to give customers the best possible experience.
Language Service Providers and Super Apps Working in Tandem
Super apps are constantly working to improve the services that they offer users. With this in mind, it’s clear that language service providers must become their partners, working to ensure the updates and improvements are seamlessly localised for the best possible user experiences internationally.
Not only can professional translators translate the apps themselves, but they can also translate the legal notices and terms and conditions to ensure that all compliances are met, and all laws adhered to in the target market.
Elite Asia is on hand to provide the highest-quality translation services to suit the needs of this burgeoning industry.
