Mobile Money let mobile subscribers pay money online without the possession of a bank account. To do that, they need to deposit money into their Mobile Money account via a bank or a telecoms agency. The State Bank only monitor the main account of these telecoms enterprises to avoid payment risks. Any person wishing to use this new method must submit precise identity information to their chosen telecoms company.
Mobile Money has already displayed its own advantage. While owners of popular e-wallets in Vietnam like Momo, Zalopay, or ViettelPay at the moment have to transfer their money from a bank account to their wallet, Mobile Money users only need a mobile account to carry out their small-amount payment process. There is no time and location limit in this method.
Statistics show that only over 50 percent of the Vietnamese have a bank account; therefore, Mobile Money aims at serving those without this account, helping them experiencing such a quick and convenient payment way. This is expected to answer the demand of the government about increasing the use of no-cash payment.
According to Deputy Director General of Vietnam Telecommunications Authority Tran Duy Hai, Mobile Money is hoped to boost no-cash payment activities in remote areas of the country, especially in places where bank branches have not existed yet. This is also a way for telecoms companies to diversify their services to the public.
In Vietnam, Mobile Money payment is still quite new to the community. Yet with an impressive growth in the quantity of mobile phone owners and Internet users, reaching 134.5 million mobile subscribers in June 2019, Vietnam is a lucrative market in this field.
CEO of Viettel Digital Pham Trung Kien said that his company is ready for the implementation of Mobile Money since it has gained 8 years of experience offering intermediary payment services. It has mastered sufficient technologies for this new payment method. In the near future, his company will launch a pilot scheme for its clients to experience Mobile Money features. He added that the approval of Mobile Money in Vietnam is a boost to banking activities.
The only problem left at the moment is a suitable legal corridor for Mobile Money. As stated by Head of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency Dang Hoang Hai, there are many reports and evaluations, especially the recent one by the State Bank, to analyze all possible risks as well as the application of payment using a mobile account. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also received various suggestions for Decree No.101, containing articles to be the major premise for this kind of payment.
“I believe that will such proper preparation, we will soon have a strong legal corridor to exercise payment via a telecoms account”, said Mr. Hai.
