Nine payment intermediaries signed a co-operation agreement with MoIT for the implementation of the National Payment Gateways (PayGov) in Ha Noi on July 24. — VNS Photo Minh Huong

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) launched a national payment support gateway (PayGov) yesterday in Ha Noi in the latest move to boost e-government in Viet Nam.

“PayGov will help at least 30 per cent of online public services to be performed at the highest level," said Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung.

Launched in 2019, the national public service portal, an electronic platform that aims to connect the Government with people and enterprises, has only 14.6 per cent of services done at the highest level fully online.

Many other services of the portal still must be finished offline with further travel and paperwork.

“The rate is still low compared to the targets of the Government that want most of the paper things to go digital," Hung added.

Considering the online payment system a way to remove bottlenecks for the national portal, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assigned the MIC to put more services online.

Hung said PayGov would help all ministries, branches and localities connect and help people pay easily on the portal.

According to the MIC, PayGov functions as a platform that supports the public service portal, electronic information systems of ministries, branches and localities to connect with an intermediary payment system.

The payment function is provided by NAPAS and eight other payment intermediaries to assist citizens and businesses to directly pay fees and charges to Government agencies.

Through the wide banking connection of NAPAS, the gateway allows more than 100 million customers using cards and payment accounts of all Vietnamese banks to access online public services.

Nguyen Quang Hung, general director of NAPAS said: “With more than 15 years in the payment industry, the firm has been co-operating with ministries, branches and public administrative units to develop best payment solutions to serve the Government's digital target and to serve a cashless society goal.”

Nguyen Ba Diep, vice president and co-founder of MoMo Wallet, another payment intermediary in the gateway said: “PayGov is an important tool for the process of promoting digital government development in Viet Nam as it supports the payment of public services and makes it convenient, transparent and reliable to better serve people and businesses.”

“MoMo has provided payment solutions for online public services in Da Nang and Khanh Hoa since last year,” he said, adding, “It will make all effort to best implement the system for the common goal of promoting cashless payment in Viet Nam.“

The MIC hopes more than half of the population have e-payment accounts by 2025 and 80 per cent by 2030.

PayGov has now connected with the portals of MIC, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province. It is also conducting a test connection with the portals of Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Long An, Thua Thien-Hue, Ha Giang and Ha Noi. — VNS