The number of users of Mobile Money, Vietnam’s direct carrier billing service, reached 835,000 after three months, with the majority in rural and remote areas, according to a report from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).

Mobile Money is seen among the key solutions for Vietnam to push for non-cash payments. Source: Viettel

The report noted out of the total registered accounts, roughly 99.8% of the total or 834,376 have completed at least one transaction.

At present, the user of Mobile Money could transfer money through cellphone accounts and without an internet connection, instead of having a bank account.

The MIC expects such a service would help locals in less backward and unbanked areas to make payments.

The ministry’s report estimated the number of Mobile Money users in rural, highlands, and remote areas in Vietnam at 487,000, or 58.3% of the total.

However, while all 63 provinces/cities have had Mobile Money service points, only 20%, or 537 of the 2,642 are in the rural areas.

As of the end of the first quarter, the number of service providers accepting payments through Mobile Money was 11,254, which settled around 7.5 million transactions for a total of VND280 billion (US$12.23 million).

The MIC noted the result has been promising given Mobile Money is in the early stage of implementation, contributing to the Government’s efforts of promoting non-cash payment in Vietnam and subsequently greater access to financial services for the public.

By late 2021, Vietnam has a total of 122 million phone subscribers, as such, the number of Mobile Money users was less than 0.7% of the total.

Mobile Money service is being provided by Vietnam’s major mobile carriers, namely Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone in a pilot scheme launched last November.

This is seen among key solutions for Vietnam to push for non-cash payment, promote e-commerce, and online public services towards a comprehensive transformation into a digital society, for which the adoption of the new service is estimated to boost economic growth by 0.5 percentage points.

To achieve the goal of becoming a cashless society, the government targeted to reduce cash payments from 11.3% in 2019 to less than 10% by the end of this year, and 8% by 2025.