Fueled by political tensions around the globe, super-app news keep dropping one after the other. June alone saw three major apps outside of Asia advancing on the super-app front. Meta began testing a standalone direct messaging feature in its Threads app, while X (formerly Twitter) rolled out “XChat” with enhanced messaging tools like disappearing messages and audio/video calls.
Meanwhile, Russia’s State Duma has authorized a new sovereign messaging platform (in partnership with VKontakte) as part of its broader “super app” strategy.
But what is a super-app exactly?
What is a super-app
A super-app is an all-in-one platform that combines services such as messaging, payments, shopping, and entertainment into a single, seamless experience. Platforms such as WeChat, Alipay, and Grab have set the standard, serving hundreds of millions of users daily and transforming how people interact with digital services.
What began as a regional phenomenon is now a global trend, with new players and markets racing to build their own super-app ecosystems. But in general, they all tend to share or at least aspire to this set of features:
- Integrated Messaging: Core chat and communication capabilities that serve as the foundation for user engagement.
- Payments & Digital Wallets: In-app payments, money transfers, bill payments, and digital wallet functionalities.
- E-commerce & Marketplace: Access to shopping, food delivery, and other retail services within the app.
- Mini Apps/Third-Party Services: Modular mini apps or microservices from internal teams or external partners, allowing users to add or remove features as needed.
- Personalized User Experience: AI-driven recommendations, content personalization, and user-specific notifications.
- Social Features: Social networking, feeds, and sharing options to keep users connected.
- Transportation & Mobility: Ride-hailing, taxi booking, and delivery services.
- Financial Services: Banking, insurance, investments, and loans.
- Customer Support: Integrated support through chatbots, live agents, and help centers.
- Seamless Digital Identity: Single sign-on, KYC, and consent management for secure access.
- Robust Security: End-to-end encryption and fraud prevention for transactions and communications.
- Data Sharing & Analytics: Centralized user data to improve services and provide insights.
The most popular “super-apps”
Now, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Asia is dominating the all-in-one landscape. However, after conducting some research, we must confess that we were surprised by how far Asia truly is when compared to other regions. The only Western app that is on the list with a solid super-app perspective is Uber, at least for now.
| App | Launch | Origin & Initial Profile | Users (approx.) | Core Services | Aditional Information |
| 2011 | China → Messaging | ~1.34 b MAU | Chat, voice/video, payments, mini‑programs, ride‑hailing, utility payments | Over 2.5 m mini‑programs; the original blueprint for super-apps | |
| Alipay | 2004 | China → E‑commerce payments | ~1.3 b registered; ~730 m MAU | Wallet, bill pay, travel, insurance, lending, investments | Led by Ant Group; deeply integrated into finance & lifestyle ecosystems |
| Paytm | 2010 | India → QR‑payment fintech | ~350 m users, ~150 m MAU | Payments, bill/payments, e‑commerce, ticketing, financial services | India’s largest fintech super-app; strong merchant adoption (~20 m) |
| Grab | 2012 | SEA → Ride‑hailing (Malaysia) | ~187 m users, ~34.9 m transacting MAU | Ride, food delivery, payments, groceries, insurance, hotel booking, web3 wallet | Market leader in SEA; expanding into Web3 and financial services |
| Gojek / GoTo | 2010 (app 2015) | Indonesia → Ride‑hailing | ~170–190 m users | Bike & car rides, food, parcels, payments (GoPay), shopping, services | Merged with Tokopedia (2021) to form GoTo with 100 m MAU and contributing ~2% GDP |
| KakaoTalk | 2010 | Korea → Messaging | ~50 m MAU | Chat, KakaoPay, banking, ride‑hailing, music, gaming, shopping | Deep integration in Korean daily life; broad digital wallet & media services |
| Line | 2011 | Japan → Messaging | ~178 m MAU | Chat, Line Pay, shopping, taxi, healthcare consultations | Dominant in Japan/Taiwan/Thailand; growing mini‑apps ecosystem |
| Uber (aspirant) | 2009 | Global → Ride‑hailing | ~131 m MAU | Rides, food (Eats), freight; expanding into transit, micromobility, travel | CEO envisions becoming a travel super‑app; adding multimodal transport & logistics |
| Careem | 2012 | Dubai → Ride‑hailing (MENA) | ~100 m users estimated | Rides, food, payments, corporate mobility | Subsidiary of Uber; regional super-app aspirations |
| VKontakte (VK) | 2006 | Russia → Social Media | ~70 million MAU (Russia & CIS); ~100 million globally | Social networking, messaging, video & music streaming, marketplace | Deep integration within the Russian digital ecosystem; VK Pay; Mini-app platform for services; Government e-services access in-app |
Western aspirations
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, other popular Western mega apps are also accelerating towards becoming all-in-one apps. However, they still lack key features at the moment.
| App | Super-App Aspirations | Current Core | Missing for Super-App Label |
| X (Twitter) | Yes (explicitly stated) | Content, social | Marketplace, mini-apps, wider services, trust infrastructure |
| Meta’s WhatsApp | Yes (regionally driven) | Messaging | Open platform, extensive integrations, lifestyle/transport features |
| Meta’s Instagram | Partial | Social, media | Utility services, financial tools, platform extensibility |
| Meta’s Facebook | Once yes, now unclear | Social network | Trust/brand momentum, new generation relevance, fresh integrations |
| Telegram | Yes | Messaging | First-party services, native payments at scale, mainstream utility functions (transport, government services), and stronger commercial partnerships. |
While Meta owns WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and now Threads, each platform is taking its own path when it comes to super-app ambitions. If Meta aimed to build a single, unified super-app, we’d likely see tighter integration—like linking Threads and WhatsApp. Instead, Threads is developing its own direct messaging feature (similar to Elon Musk’s xChat), while WhatsApp is moving in a different direction, adding AI features and pursuing B2B marketing tools. Facebook, once the original candidate for Meta’s all-in-one platform, has lost momentum but is still worth mentioning due to its early super-app characteristics. Given these diverging strategies, it makes more sense to analyze each app individually.
Meta appears to be pursuing a super-app strategy in spirit, not in form, building a connected ecosystem rather than a single, all-in-one app like WeChat or Grab.
Super-Apps and Messaging: More Than Just Chat
With their near-universal adoption and high engagement rates, messaging platforms are the natural entry point for embedding additional services. What starts as a simple chat quickly evolves: users can pay bills, transfer money, shop online, book rides, or access customer support—all without ever leaving the app. This convergence of services enhances user convenience and drives platform loyalty.
But although one of the most successful super-apps started out as a messaging platform, not all aspiring super-apps have messaging at their core. However, sooner or later, messaging needs to be added to the mix. One of the most glaring examples is the newly announced xChat, which was implemented in Elon Musk’s X app this June.
For enterprises, the implications are profound. Messaging within super-apps enables real-time customer engagement, integrated support, and streamlined workflows. Businesses can offer personalized promotions, handle transactions, and resolve issues directly in the chat window.
What This Means for the Global Messaging Landscape
Increasing Fragmentation: Sovereign apps, such as Russia’s VKontakte or China’s WeChat, signal a move toward segmented, state-controlled digital ecosystems, challenging the global interoperability of messaging platforms.
Consolidation of Services: Messaging is no longer standalone; it’s merging with payments, identity, and government functions, creating multifunctional “super apps.”
Regulatory and Geopolitical Influence: Governments are actively shaping digital infrastructure to assert control and sovereignty, impacting how telcos and service providers operate internationally.
Competitive Dynamics: Meta’s and X’s recent messaging upgrades highlight the race among Western tech giants to build all-in-one social and communication platforms, while sovereign apps pursue independent ecosystems.
By the looks of it, messaging can be easily seen as a core functionality of a true all-in-one super-app. Which leads us to the next must-have feature. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s AI…
AI’s Expanding Role in Super-Apps
By 2025, nearly every major messaging app has integrated artificial intelligence to elevate user experience. A notable example is the partnership between Telegram and Elon Musk’s Grok AI, which brings advanced conversational AI directly into the messaging environment.
This trend is echoed across the industry, with platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, and X (formerly Twitter) deploying AI for smarter, more contextual interactions.
AI enables personalization at scale, analyzing user behavior to tailor content and recommendations. In the context of messaging apps, it even automates reminders and summarizes past conversations. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants now handle everything from customer queries to booking appointments and making payments. Smart workflows automate repetitive tasks, freeing users to focus on what matters most.
Yet, as automation becomes more pervasive, platforms must strike a careful balance between efficiency and the human touch. The challenge is to ensure that AI augments, rather than replaces, meaningful interactions—maintaining trust in an increasingly automated world. And yes, before we move forward, maybe it’s worth mentioning that pairing AI with messaging apps is always a hot potato when it comes to user privacy. But this is probably a topic for another future article.
Digital Identity: The Silent Enabler
Behind the scenes, digital identity is silently becoming the glue that holds the super-app ecosystem together. Seamless login, Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, and consent management are all made possible by robust digital identity frameworks. These systems are supposed to foster trust, prevent fraud, and give users greater control over their personal data.
Moreover, digital identity enables interoperability across services and platforms, allowing users to move effortlessly within the super-app environment. This not only enhances security and convenience but also lays the groundwork for future innovations in authentication and data portability.
What It Means for Telcos and Messaging Providers
For telecommunications companies and messaging providers, the super-app wave brings both opportunities and challenges. On the upside, there’s potential for integrating Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solutions, layering in digital identity, and monetizing the vast data generated by user interactions. These capabilities can help telcos remain relevant as the digital landscape evolves.
However, there are significant threats: platform lock-in can sideline traditional brands, making them invisible to end users who engage primarily with the super-app itself. To stay competitive, telcos and service providers must pursue strategic partnerships, open up their APIs, and embrace initiatives like GSMA’s Open Gateway model, which promotes interoperability and innovation across platforms. In short:
- Prepare for increased complexity in cross-border messaging interoperability and compliance.
- Anticipate new partnerships and integrations with sovereign platforms in regulated markets.
- Monitor how user expectations evolve as messaging apps expand their functionalities.
- Consider the impact of geopolitical fragmentation on global service delivery and roaming.
If you want a more nuanced discussion about this, feel free to reach out to the GTC team here.
Conclusion: The Super-App Playbook Isn’t Universal—But It’s Coming
While the super-app model is gaining traction worldwide, its adoption is shaped by regional preferences, regulatory environments, and local market dynamics. For operators and service providers, success will depend on staying agile, fostering innovation, and building alliances that bridge global trends with local relevance.
The age of the super-app is here to stay. How quickly and broadly it takes hold will depend on the ecosystem’s ability to deliver both convenience and trust.
Any questions?
Global Telco Consult (GTC) is a trusted independent business messaging consultancy with deep domain knowledge in application-to-person (A2P) services. GTC provides tailor-made messaging strategies to enterprises, messaging service providers, operators and voice carriers. We have expertise in multiple messaging channels such as RCS, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and SMS for the wholesale and retail industry. Additionally, GTC offers Digital Identity and Fraud advisory services, aiding clients in navigating the complexities of digital identity verification and fraud prevention, while also providing Recruitment services, assisting businesses in acquiring top talent within the telecom and technology sectors.
GTC supports its customers from market strategy through service launch, running the operations and supporting sales and procurement. The company started in 2016 with a mission to guide operators and telcos to embrace new and exciting opportunities and make the most out of business messaging. For more information or industry insights, browse through our blog page or follow us on LinkedIn.
