Vietnam extends mobile money service pilot to 2024

Total value of mobile money transactions exceeds $70m 

The Vietnamese government has extended the pilot use of telecom payment accounts for small-value goods and services until the end of 2024.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of Vietnam issued the resolution on the trial’s extension which permits the use of telecom payments for various transactions including paying for small-value goods and services, as well as for money transfers, cash top-ups, and money remittances.

Amid the extension, the State Bank of Vietnam, in collaboration with the MIC, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice, and other relevant agencies, will review and propose regulations on mobile money services by May 2024.

The scheme was initially approved by the government for a two-year period nationwide in March 2021. According to MIC, the number of clients using the service already exceeded 3.9 million as of May 2023 — tripling the figure for the same period last year.

Among these users, 69 percent or over 2.7 million clients are situated in rural, remote, and mountainous areas of Vietnam.

Currently, there are more than 9,953 mobile money service points nationwide and 15,326 units accepting payment via mobile money. The total number of withdrawals, transfers and payments through this service was over 26.1 million, with a total value of about $70.1m.