Trust is the currency of the digital economy. Whether you are booking a ride across town or buying a second hand jacket online, you expect seamless communication and secure interactions. Companies that fail to deliver both risk not only losing customers to competitors but also experiencing preventable financial losses.
Two very different businesses: FREENOW, Europe’s leading mobility platform, and Vinted, a fast-growing second-hand marketplace, are proving that communications technology is as much about staying in touch as it is about building trust, boosting engagement, and protecting users in real time. At the heart of their success is Vonage, a global leader in cloud communications.
Riding the Wave of Rich, Secure Messaging
When FREENOW selected Vonage earlier this year, it marked what the company called “a new milestone in user-focused, technology-driven communication for Europe’s mobility sector.”
Operating in more than 150 cities and across nine European countries, FREENOW connects millions of passengers with taxis, private hire vehicles, and micro-mobility options. Reliable, real-time communication is critical, whether confirming bookings, updating routes, or resolving customer queries.
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Vonage’s SMS and WhatsApp capabilities already help FREENOW reach customers instantly, but the company is going further by adopting branded Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging. RCS combines verified business identity with rich media, images, video, and interactive buttons, enabling a more engaging, trusted interaction.
The results speak for themselves. FREENOW has reported a 100% conversion rate on RCS-enabled devices, proof that users respond positively when messages are secure, recognizable, and interactive.
For a sector built on speed and convenience, branded, verified messaging reassures customers they are dealing with a legitimate service, reducing the risk of fraud or impersonation and safeguarding the company’s bottom line.
Fighting Fraud Without Friction
While FREENOW focuses on improving engagement, Vinted faced a very different challenge: protecting its platform from fraud.
As Europe’s largest online marketplace for second-hand fashion, Vinted has millions of users buying and selling items every day. But with rapid growth came rising attempts at fraud, from fake accounts to stolen credit cards. The company needed to tighten security without alienating legitimate users.
By integrating the Vonage Verify API within its Protection Suite, Vinted introduced smart, targeted verification. Suspicious transactions are flagged automatically, triggering a simple SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA). Fraudulent activity is blocked, but ordinary buyers and sellers rarely notice a difference.
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Crucially, Vonage’s “pay-on-conversion” model means Vinted only pays for successful verifications, ensuring no money is wasted on fraudulent attempts.
Danielius Isiunas, Product Manager at Vinted, explained the impact:
“When we began to notice stolen credentials or stolen credit cards… we recognized that we needed to do something beyond what was already in place. [Vonage] saves Vinted a lot of money.”
The result? Fewer fraudulent transactions, happier users, and a stronger brand built on trust and robust revenue protection.
The Bigger Picture: Communications as a Trust Engine
These two stories, one focused on engagement, the other on fraud prevention, highlight the same truth: secure, programmable communications are now a business imperative.
Vonage’s cloud-based Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) allows companies to embed messaging, voice, video, verification, and AI directly into their customer journeys. From a single platform, businesses can create personalized, secure interactions that drive both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
For FREENOW, that means turning every message into a trusted, branded touchpoint. For Vinted, it means stopping fraud before it happens without adding friction for real customers.
Customers are quick to switch and cyber threats keep growing. The companies that stand out are the ones making secure, seamless communication part of how they do business.
Vonage’s work with FREENOW and Vinted shows what’s possible, communications not just as a utility, but as a true engine of trust, innovation and growth.
Download “Fraud Prevention Without Friction: Protecting Your Customers Without Sacrificing CX”