The race is on for Vietnam’s key fintech players

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Hello readers,

I’m a bit of an overplanner – on busy days, I whittle my time down into hourly blocks, plotting out deadlines for personal and work projects. Yet ironically, I live impulsively. I make impromptu purchases, take unplanned bus rides to wander aimlessly in new areas, and give my itinerary a wide berth when on overseas trips. (Ah, don’t we all miss the freedom of travelling?)

Risk-taking has its rewards and shortfalls, but in Vietnam, that’s what local fintech players are prepared to do. The battleground is primed as more fintech players rise up in hopes of becoming the next Alipay or WeChat Pay. Question is, are they ready?

Today we look at,

• The major players in Vietnam’s fintech space
• Gojek and Tokopedia’s official merger
• Other newsy highlights such as India’s newly minted unicorn and Pine Labs’ US$3b valuation

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Payment party

Fintech players in Singapore and Indonesia may be dominating Southeast Asia’s digital payments space, but the region’s next battleground lies in Vietnam. Roughly 70% of the country’s population is unbanked or underbanked, leaving many opportunities ripe for the picking.

• The race upward: According to VC firm Cento Ventures, investment into Vietnam’s startups exceeded that of Singapore startups by US$48 million in 2019. That bullish outlook was mainly fueled by fintech players like MoMo and VNPay’s mega funding rounds. But can either of these firms become Vietnam’s local fintech champions?
• Eyes on the prize: Around 40 e-wallet providers are fighting it out in Vietnam’s saturated space, yet only three of them were among the country’s top 10 payment apps in 2020. Traditional banks and telecom operators have been adapting quickly on the digital front. This means startups need to look beyond digital payments and tap into the next lucrative segment: digital lending.
• The waiting game: Hundreds of companies and startups are offering digital lending services in Vietnam, but regulations in the country don’t allow non-bank institutions to provide direct lending, leaving the sector largely unregulated, making it risky for consumers.

MoMo and ZaloPay have already partnered with other institutions to offer consumer lending options on their platforms. Meanwhile, Grab is expected to double down on its super-app battle in Vietnam in the coming years. It’s a long-drawn game, but pass us the popcorn, anyway.

Read more: The key players in Vietnam’s fintech battleground

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

The Gojek-Tokopedia merger has happened