Surprising numbers about Mobile Money after 3 years of testing

(NLDO) – The total number of accounts registered and using Mobile Money service is more than 9.8 million accounts, including differences between the 3 network operators.

The State Bank is seeking comments on a draft Decree regulating the use of telecommunications accounts to pay for goods and services in Vietnam (Mobile Money).

In the draft proposal to develop a decree on Mobile Money, the State Bank said that Mobile Money is a new type of pilot payment. Currently, only 3 telecommunications enterprises, Viettel, VNPT-Media and MobiFone, are allowed to pilot the provision of services on the basis of utilizing infrastructure, data and telecommunications networks within the territory of Vietnam.

After more than 3 years of implementation, Mobile Money has brought about many positive changes in cashless payment activities in rural, remote, border and island areas.

According to data released by the State Bank based on reports from 3 businesses as of the end of September 2024, the total number of accounts registered and using Mobile Money services is more than 9.8 million accounts.

Of which, Viettel accounts for 73%, VNPT-Media accounts for 21%, MobiFone accounts for 6%, the number of customer accounts registered and using services in rural, mountainous, remote, border and island areas is more than 7.1 million accounts (accounting for nearly 72% of the total number of accounts registered and using services).

Viettel, MobiFone, VNPT -Media are 3 network operators deploying Mobile Money service in Vietnam in the pilot phase.

A notable figure is that the number of active Mobile Money accounts by the end of September 2024 was more than 6.56 million accounts, reaching about 66.46% of the total number of registered accounts.

The total number of transactions via customers' Mobile Money accounts from the pilot implementation until the end of September 2024 (including deposit/withdrawal/money transfer/payment transactions) is more than 159 million transactions with a total transaction value of nearly VND 5,685 billion.

Meanwhile, based on current legal regulations, telecommunications enterprises providing Mobile Money services are not subject to the application and scope of regulation of the Law on Credit Institutions 2024; Law on the State Bank; Decree 52/2024/ND-CP. At the same time, Mobile Money services are not payment services through or without customers' payment accounts, nor are they a means of payment and have not been officially regulated in any legal document.

"Creating an official legal corridor for a new payment service, Mobile Money, will ensure the payment process is smooth, meeting the needs of more than 9.8 million accounts in use, especially more than 7 million customers in rural, remote, border and island areas of Vietnam," the State Bank's report stated.

How is Mobile Money different from e-wallet?

The main difference between a Mobile Money account and an e-wallet is the linking to a bank account. An e-wallet must be linked to a bank account, debit card (attached to the account), while a Mobile Money account does not need to be linked.

Mobile Money's target customers are people in rural, mountainous, remote, border and island areas of Vietnam... These are places where the bank network is difficult to cover, and people cannot open bank accounts to use non-cash payment services.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nhung-con-so-bat-ngo-ve-mobile-money-sau-3-nam-thu-nghiem-196241203105508811.htm