Removing bottlenecks from Mobile Money service

Vietnam has piloted Mobile Money service for two years

>> Obstacles stand in way of mobile money

According to Ms. Pham Minh Tu, Deputy Director of Mobifone Digital Service Center, Vietnam is nearly 20 years behind the rest of the globe in deploying Mobile Money, therefore it appears that Mobile Money's golden age has past. Mobile Money has experienced numerous obstacles at a time when the digital economy is booming and banks are rapidly moving to digital banking.

"Mobile Money was launched in the context of the Vietnamese financial industry having a lot of payment services from commercial banks and fintech companies, and Mobile Money is under a lot of competition," Ms. Pham Minh Tu explained.

Mobile Money is needed to not only do KYC registration in the same way that commercial banks do, but also to completely match subscriber information, in which many people's ID cards, citizen identification, and identity papers are wrong, resulting in Mobile Money registration failure.

Furthermore, Mobile Money has a VND 10 million limit , which is substantially smaller than e-wallets and cannot be compared to commercial banks. "When we provide a new payment method, but there are several limit s from registration to usage, many clients would abandon Mobile Money," Ms. Pham Minh Tu stated.

In addition, the operator's Mobile Money business points are located throughout the country, but the conditions of such business points must be legal, but in other countries, this condition is not required, resulting in an increase in the operator's costs and resources.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Vinaphone's Deputy General Director, also noted that Mobile Money's KYC registration has forced pilot enterprises to devote more efforts to converting mobile subscribers into Mobile Money consumers. On the other hand, the concept of mobile money is still new to many people, and those in rural, distant, and isolated places are still wary of using it...

Mr. Truong Quang Viet, Viettel Deputy General Director, proposed the following ways to overcome the above challenges: First, through mobile money accounts, it is vital to boost disbursement activities for manufacturing and business for disadvantaged populations. Because this is both a technique and a motivator for people to use Mobile Money.

>> Telecom providers launch Mobile Money services

Second, policy directives should be issued to encourage the growth of non-cash payment methods across the country, so that everyone may soon access and accept digital payments in their daily lives.

Third, the media should collaborate with Mobile Money operators to raise public awareness of this service, foster an open and honest perspective of the Mobile Money, and gradually dispel public fears about the digital society and cashless payments.

Fourth, banks and network operators continue to promote cooperation programs aimed at providing optimal value to consumers when they use digital payment services, ensuring that people in all parts of the country benefit from the digital economy.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan further suggested that the State authorities should consider enabling mobile users to avoid re-KYC if they meet the condition of having utilized continuous mobile phone services for at least three months as of the registration date to open and use Mobile Money. Furthermore, it is vital to allow pilot firms to engage into direct collaboration with other financial intermediaries/institutions in order to take use of the available networks of these units and swiftly create a suitable environment for customers when utilizing Mobile Money.