Vietnam telcos ready to pilot mobile money

Vietnamese operators MobiFone, VNPT and Viettel have all submitted proposals to participate in pilot mobile money services.

Vietnam’s prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has directed the telecommunications ministry and the State Bank of Vietnam to develop a project that will allow operators to pilot mobile money services not linked to customers’ bank accounts.

The three operators have submitted applications to launch mobile money services that will allow customers to transfer money using mobile phones, including Vietnam’s unbanked population.

According to the report, the operators believe they have the capital, infrastructure and user base necessary to launch mobile money services and contribute to the development of non-cash payment in Vietnam.

The market could represent a promising avenue for expansion for the operators – Vietnam’s fintech market is set to reach $8 billion in 2020, with digital payment solutions accounting for around 89% of the market. Meanwhile only around 40% of the population have bank accounts, but mobile penetration is well above 100%.