Uber partners with Goldman Sachs-backed startup for cashless payments in Vietnam

Photo credit: Momo.

Uber has partnered with Vietnam-based payments startup Momo to enable cashless transactions on the Uber app. Starting today, the ride-hailer says 30 percent of Android users of its app in Vietnam can pay for their rides using Momo’s digital wallet.

The option will be available to all its Android users by January 1, 2018. Owners of iOS devices will get it “not long after,” according to an Uber spokesperson.

This is the first such deal for Uber in Southeast Asia. In India, the company tied up with prominent payments provider Paytm in 2014.

This is the first such deal for Uber in Southeast Asia.

Momo offers an e-wallet and an online payments service in Vietnam. Users can transfer funds, pay bills, buy airline tickets, and more. Collaborating offline outlets help customers charge their wallets, do remittances, and perform other transactions.

The Vietnamese startup has attracted investment from Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered. The latter partnered with Momo to enable online payments for its corporate clients in the country.

Momo claims to have over five million users on its app, up from over the two-and-a-half million it reported in early 2016, when Goldman Sachs and Standard Chartered poured US$28 million in the firm.

“The partnership with Uber will open a seamless and cashless transport experience for the many Vietnamese without credit cards,” said Momo COO Nguyen Manh Tuong in a statement.

Uber does not have its own digital wallet option, unlike its Southeast Asian competitors Grab and Go-Jek, which use the feature to offer more diverse services like package and food delivery as well as cashless payment options in various retailers.

In Vietnam, Uber offers ride-hailing for cars and motorbikes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, and Nha Trang.