Cashless payments via mobile money services gained momentum in Vietnam shortly after the Central Bank granted a license for the new service.
At the beginning of December last year, after many years of waiting, the State Bank of Vietnam officially authorized three operators, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Vietnam Military Industry Telecom Group (Viettel) and Vietnam Mobile Telecom Service Company (MobiFone) to conduct a pilot mobile money service for a period of two years. Expires in November 2023.
VNPT and Viettel are the only two that have so far brought mobile money services to commercial use. MobiFone is still completing the preparatory steps to participate in the field as soon as possible.
Nearly one million users
According to data released by the Ministry of Information and Communications on the same day, as of February 11, 2022, more than 463,000 people have used mobile money as of February 11, 2022. Overall, 77,200 suppliers across the country accept the payment method, the ministry said.
The development of mobile money aims to facilitate digital transformation in the financial sector and expand the use of cashless payment services among the population, especially for those in remote mountainous and rural areas. Currently, only 50% of adults in Vietnam have a bank account, and most of the unbanked pay for daily necessities in cash.
The country’s telecom market currently has about 126.3 million subscribers, with the three major operators and operators licensed to pilot mobile money accounting for more than 97 percent of the market.
Digital Transformation and Financial Inclusion
The ministry said it will continue to encourage telecom service operators to digitize their telecom infrastructure with the goal of “making a significant contribution to the development of e-government, the digital economy and the digital society in general”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly boosted Vietnam’s e-commerce market. According to a survey of 15,000 retailers, cashless payments accounted for 72.8% of total transactions in 2021, up 9% year-on-year.
Debit cards are the most popular payment method through bank accounts, accounting for 36.5% of total transactions in retail stores, restaurants and cafes, followed by cash (29.8%), e-wallets (14.8%), QR codes (9.9%) , credit cards (8.5%) and payment gateways (0.5%).
Notably, 89.3% of retailers in Vietnam have a positive attitude towards cashless payments, believing it to be a current and future trend. This is in line with the fact that the reported value of the country’s e-commerce market has grown 24-fold over the past six years, from $5 billion in 2015 to $120 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach $234 billion by 2025.
Viettel, Vietnam’s largest telecom service provider, is exploring mobile payments Cashless payments via mobile money services gained momentum in Vietnam shortly after the Central Bank granted a license for the new service. At the beginning of December last year, after many years of waiting, the State Bank of Vietnam officially authorized three operators, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Vietnam Military Industry Telecom Group (Viettel) and Vietnam Mobile Telecom Service Company (MobiFone) to conduct a pilot mobile money service for a period of two years. Expires in November 2023. VNPT and Viettel are the only two so far…
Cashless payments via mobile money services gained momentum in Vietnam shortly after the Central Bank granted a license for the new service.
At the beginning of December last year, after many years of waiting, the State Bank of Vietnam officially authorized three operators, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Vietnam Military Industry Telecom Group (Viettel) and Vietnam Mobile Telecom Service Company (MobiFone) to conduct a pilot mobile money service for a period of two years. Expires in November 2023.
VNPT and Viettel are the only two that have so far brought mobile money services to commercial use. MobiFone is still completing the preparatory steps to participate in the field as soon as possible.
Nearly one million users
According to data released by the Ministry of Information and Communications on the same day, as of February 11, 2022, more than 463,000 people have used mobile money as of February 11, 2022. Overall, 77,200 suppliers across the country accept the payment method, the ministry said.
The development of mobile money aims to facilitate digital transformation in the financial sector and expand the use of cashless payment services among the population, especially for those in remote mountainous and rural areas. Currently, only 50% of adults in Vietnam have a bank account, and most of the unbanked pay for daily necessities in cash.
The country’s telecom market currently has about 126.3 million subscribers, with the three major operators and operators licensed to pilot mobile money accounting for more than 97 percent of the market.
Digital Transformation and Financial Inclusion
The ministry said it will continue to encourage telecom service operators to digitize their telecom infrastructure with the goal of “making a significant contribution to the development of e-government, the digital economy and the digital society in general”.
The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly boosted Vietnam’s e-commerce market. According to a survey of 15,000 retailers, cashless payments accounted for 72.8% of total transactions in 2021, up 9% year-on-year.
Debit cards are the most popular payment method through bank accounts, accounting for 36.5% of total transactions in retail stores, restaurants and cafes, followed by cash (29.8%), e-wallets (14.8%), QR codes (9.9%) , credit cards (8.5%) and payment gateways (0.5%).
Notably, 89.3% of retailers in Vietnam have a positive attitude towards cashless payments, believing it to be a current and future trend. This is in line with the fact that the reported value of the country’s e-commerce market has grown 24-fold over the past six years, from $5 billion in 2015 to $120 billion in 2021, and is expected to reach $234 billion by 2025.
