Four new payment intermediaries licensed in Vietnam since 2021

May 04, 2021 | 09:42

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From the beginning of the year, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued new licences to four non-bank payment intermediaries, showing the increasing demand by local firms to join the fintech rush.

four new payment intermediaries licensed in vietnam since 2021

Four new payment intermediaries have been licensed in Vietnam since the beginning of 2021, including Vietnam Post and MobiFone

Most recently, on April 12, the SBV granted a licence to Vietnam Post Corporation.

Accordingly, Vietnam Post has just launched an Intermediary Payment and Fintech Division to oversee fintech and patment operations. General director Chu Quang Hao is heading up this division.

On March 9, MobiFone has received a license from the central bank to provide payment intermediary services.

The new license for intermediary payment service provision is expected to pave the way for MobiFone to roll out mobile money services right after the government authorises implementation.

Meanwhile, OneFin and Jetpay were granted licences in January. On its official website, OneFin describes itself as one of the leading companies in applying e-payment solutions and technologies, including services related to e-wallets, payment gateways with outstanding security features, processing speed, and convenience for customers and partners.

These licences come after major Vietnamese behemoths such as Viettel, VNPT, and FPT have expanded into the lucrative payments industry.

For instance, FPT Telecom was granted a licence in last August after two years as a non-bank intermediary payment service provider, with Foxpay as its core product.These large corporations could take advantage of their nationwide networks, large customer base, and solid financial capacity to take over the market.

As of April 22, the SBV has granted licences for 43 non-bank intermediary payment services companies.

Vietnam’s fintech startup landscape almost tripled in size between 2017 and 2020, growing from 44 startups in 2017 to 121 startups in December 2020, according to a new report released by Fintech News Singapore.

By Lam Tien

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