The untapped potential of Vietnam’s BNPL industry

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Hello there,

Since middle school, I have always kept in mind that Vietnam is a close sibling to Indonesia. For example, both countries share some linguistic features such as the word “eye” that translates into “mắt” in Vietnamese and “mata” in Indonesian.

Now that I’m covering the startup world, the similarities are even more pronounced. I’ve learned that in the fintech space, for example, credit card penetration is similarly low across the two countries and a big slice of both populations has not availed of any financial services.

It’s no wonder that Indonesian companies like buy now, pay later provider Kredivo would target Vietnam as their first international market. This means there’s a lot of room for growth, and the similarities provide an opportunity to apply lessons learned in Indonesia.

In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Huong unfolds why the BNPL industry in Vietnam is likely to be a lucrative one as demand from the young population continues to soar. On the other hand, infrastructure and regulatory challenges still persist.

Speaking of BNPL, Kredivo has recently made ties with Indonesian telecom major Telkomsel to launch the latter’s BNPL product, Telkomsel PayLater. With more players arriving, what makes Telkomsel stand out? More on this week’s Hot Take.

– Budi

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THE BIG STORY

Why Vietnam is buying into BNPL now, not later

BNPL players see a huge opportunity in the country, where consumption is rising and only 4% of the population own credit cards. But can they deliver?

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THE HOT TAKE

Can Telkomsel make a dent in BNPL?

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NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

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FYI

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