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payment of E-commerce in Vietnam and what the future holds for the domestic market
The fast growing rate of Internet users is one of the most notable aspects of Vietnam economy with
up to 40 per cent of its people using Internet. According to statistics from the industry and trade
ministrys E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (VECITA), Internet and mobile play an
important role in consumers trading with nearly 60% of online users conducting online purchases.
Eighty per cent of businesses will order or receive orders through e-commerce applications on the
Internet or on mobile platforms.
The ground for e-commerce has been developed in terms of financial infrastructure which is
expected to complete by 2020, keeping up with the development of various e-commerce models
and activities in society.
Over the last five years, the strong growth of e-commerce has stimulated the e-payment services
sector. In 2010, there were 84,500 e-wallet accounts opened with 17 banks providing services and
119 merchants accepting online payment.
Since then, the online payment network has been developing with POS network growing faster than
ATM due to high cost of investment and operation of ATM machines. The payment market in
Vietnam is still in early stage and very fragmented with only 11 companies being granted the trial
license, but the number of competitors is much larger. The e-payment market in Vietnam currently
focuses on different areas like banking transfer (OnePay, SmartLink, VNBC), e-commerce (Soha,
Nganluong, Baokim), whole seller and retail, etc.
Though banked sector was large and grew rapidly, cash payment was still the main payment vehicle
with cash on delivery (COD) method accounting for 64% of e-commerce transactions since the
benefits of e-payment are not clear yet. Also the complex of 3D security incorporated into credit
cards and the fact that customers can return products upon delivery have persuaded them to stick
to their traditional payment method COD.
According to statistics from VECITA, around 97% of businesses have transfer option for consumers
and the rate has been increasing steadily in the past few years. Meanwhile, e-wallet and internet
banking do not show any clear trends, despite the e-commerce transactions increasing by more than
30% annually.
The online payment platforms in Vietnam have not kept up with the development of e-commerce,
which could be attributed to consumers unfamiliarity with e-payment, inherent risks associated
with online financial services providers and led to the dominance of COD method.
As for the online vehicles, debit transaction still accounts for a large proportion of e-payment with
banks trying to grow credit cards number to increase payment through their system.
Underdeveloped credit rating system slows down the development of credit card and the
domination of debit account puts the security on hand of consumers, which further limit the use of
online payment tools.



Banks have put substantial efforts to upgrade banking technology in order to manage online
transactions and have become the leader in successfully applying non-cash payment. However noncash payments were still the exception rather than the rule. The legal system, and the habits of
authorities, companies and the general public perpetuated the use of cash.
The government has encouraged the use of electronic payment systems and to eliminate cash
payment by building an online payment platform for e-commerce from 2016 to 2020. The
government also encourages the development of e-commerce across borders along with export and
import activities, taking up 15 per cent of B2C e-commerce sales by 2020 which would foster epayment to reduce transaction cost.
The recent merger between Banknetvn and Smartlink in Dec 2014 has proved the governmental
support for e-payment market. The government has agreed to waive tax for the post-merger
consolidated firm for up to five years, subject to both parties committed to ensuring high quality for
customer usage. The transaction is also a signal of improved e-payment facilities to keep up with
other markets through reduced controlling cost and better customer services.
It is expected that one hundred per cent of supermarkets, shopping malls and distribution chains will
cooperate point of sale (POS) system, reaching the target of 250,000 POS at the end of 2015 and
allowing non-cash payment when purchasing.
However it may question those parties as to whether the limitations of e-payment vehicles in
Vietnam actually hinder the development of e-commerce market. In the summer 2014, $3bn poured
into Indias e-commerce sector, where more than 200 digital commerce startups flush with private
investment and venture capital funds and most of these online vendors largely operate on cash on
delivery basis. Despite the heavy dependence on cash of India and some other countries including
Indonesia and Colombia, digital marketplaces are innovating at a remarkable pace. But in the near
future, nimble e-commerce players are simply working with and around the persistence of cash.
The South East Asian region comprising of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia is experiencing
an up surge in e-commerce thanks to well-established infrastructure, and resolving online payment
was amongst the first issues to be taken care of. The development of e-payment platform in those
countries has confirmed the unavoidable market trend toward online payment for e-commerce in
Vietnam, especially when the online trading businesses are trying to expand abroad. However how
long it would take for to reach the oversea standard is still a puzzle for Vietnamese e-commerce
market.

Trung Anh Nguyen and Phuong Do, IDG Vietnam

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