More and more banks are entering the e-wallet business as they see huge growth potential in the wake of the Government’s plan to reduce cash payments to below 10 per cent of all transactions by 2020.

In the past two weeks alone, HDBank, PVcomBank, ACB, SeABank and VIB have received approval from the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) to operate in the e-wallet business.

The number of e-wallet transactions is increasing sharply in the country. Though there is no official report from the SBV, service providers estimate that 10 million people in Viet Nam are using e-wallets – a modest figure compared with the great potential of the market.

E-wallet systems attract consumers by allowing users to quickly pay for goods and services with minimal fees using their mobile phones.

By the end of August, SBV had also licensed 27 non-bank institutions to provide e-wallets services, including well-known names such as MoMo, Bankplus, Vi Viet, VTC Pay, WePay, Vimo, Ngan Luong and Payoo.

Most of the institutions have foreign backers. South Korea’s UTC Investment holds a 65 per cent stake in VNPT Epay, NTT Data holds 64 per cent of Payoo, Hong Kong’s Champion Crest has 51 per cent of Amigo Technologies JSC, Thailand’s True Money owns 90 per cent of 1Pay and MOL Accessportal holds 50 per cent of Ngan Luong.

E-wallet providers have recently started diversifying their offerings, introducing services such as providing loans to capture more customers.

For example, MoMo joined hands with Shinhan Bank this week to enable users to apply for loans from the South Korean bank directly. Thanks to the partnership, Vietnamese users have the chance to experience a comprehensive financial solution on a mobile device for the first time.

MoMo E-Wallet users simply send an application for a consumer loan to Shinhan Bank on their MoMo E-Wallet application and then wait for approval. From now until December 31, consumer loans from Shinhan registered via MoMo E-Wallet will enjoy a one per cent discount on the annual interest rate.

The service simplifies the entire loan process from application and review to approval and disbursement, saving time and energy. It is only available to MoMo customers who have linked their MoMo E-Wallet to an account opened at one of 15 associated banks.

“MoMo and Shinhan have jointly launched many services and utilities to customers,” said Shin Dong Min, CEO of Shinhan Bank in Viet Nam.

“A highlight service is money sent from South Korea being received via MoMo E-Wallet in Viet Nam. And now we offer consumer loan applications and disbursement through MoMo E-Wallet. We hope this will provide greater access to Shinhan’s consumer loans among customers and give them more financial assistance.” — VNS