The eight companies solve different financial problems the country have seen, from a P2P lending service to a convenient e-wallet

According to the data uncovered by Solidiance, an APAC-focused consultancy firm, Vietnam’s fintech market is predicted to reach US$7.8 billion by 2020. It, according to the article released by Vietnam Investment Revies, equals a 77 per cent increase over three years.

Quoting the article, several things factor into the rapid growth of the financial technology sector of the country, such as the existence of regulatory efforts to increase financial inclusion and to reduce cash payments, the rising income and consumption that boosts the e-commerce sector, high Internet and smartphone penetration rates, and a young and tech affluent population.

The article further noted that according to the World Bank, the high level of Internet (52 per cent) and smartphone penetration (72 per cent) make Vietnam one of the fastest adopters of smartphones and Internet (at low cost) in Southeast Asia, and provide the necessary infrastructure for fintech services, even in remote rural areas.

As an answer to the United Nations’ goal of promoting financial inclusion, the Vietnamese government has recognised fintech as one of the key factors enabling the transformation of the financial landscape and, therefore, established the State Bank of Vietnam’s Steering Committee on Financial Technology in 2017 to promote the development of fintech firms in Vietnam.

All the efforts and transformation the country has seen resulted in the successful founding and operation of several fintechs. e27 then gathered these eight names that represent the current rising trend in Vietnam’s fintech ecosystem. They are:

MoMo

MoMo is a service of M Service, providing a digital wallet and a payment app. It brands itself as an over-the-counter (OTC) remittance and payment platform.

e27 voted MoMo as its Startup of the Month back in January 2019, after it raised an undisclosed Series C funding led by Warburg Pincus.

Also Read: [Updated] Here are the top-funded fintech startups of Singapore in 2019

In addition to enabling customers to pay for purchases at various merchants, the MoMo platform also enables users to buy phone credits, send money, and pay bills.

To date, MoMo claimed to serve nearly 10 million users on its e-wallet platform with its transaction volumes has also grown more than three-fold over 2018.

According to a Vietnam Investment Review article, MoMo also made it to the list of the 100 leading global fintech innovators, according to the Fintech100 report by KPMG and H2 Ventures. MoMo has raised US$28 million of funds from Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs in its 2017’s Series B funding.

Timo

Timo is lauded as Vietnam’s first-ever digital bank with no traditional branches or transaction offices. Timo was launched jointly by Lifestyle Project Management and Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) in March 2015 and officially operated in early 2016 with the launch of the Timo Hangout in Ho Chi Minh City.

Timo Hangouts replaces the traditional branch with tellers with a coffee shop and are used to open accounts or to simply meet up with friends.

Timo’s transactions include money transfers, payments, opening a term deposit, and managing accounts. All can be done remotely, for free, and straightforward, only involve KYC/AML procedures and checks, all through the mobile app.

After setting up an account online, customers will only need to meet a Timo Care Representative in person at a Timo Hangout when initially opening an account.

Finhay

Finhay is a Vietnamese fintech firm that allows customers to invest as little as US$2 in mutual funds in Vietnam upon Finhay’s investment portfolio and related risk assessment recommendation based on the applicants’ information.

Finhay was established in 2017 as a micro-investment platform targeted at millennials.

In January 2019, Finhay announced that it has raised nearly US$1 million from Singapore-based Insignia Venture Partners and other investors.

The funding, the company noted at that time, was used on user growth and looking for talent to join the team.

In its seed round, Finhay received investment funds from Hong Kong and US companies.

OnOnPay

Leveraging on the high prepaid use of mobile top-up and high mobile penetration in Vietnam, OnOnPay was developed in 2015 under the leadership of founder Sỹ Phong Bùi.

OnOnPay’s app lets users top-up via mobile, sends notifications when balances are running low, schedules top-ups in line with big promotion dates, and lets users add funds for several phone numbers at a time.

Also Read: Meet the 10 Indonesian fintech startups you may have never rooted for before

Talking to e27 in 2015, Bui noted that the preference for prepaid stems from the love for promotions. “With fixed plans, users are limited to one SIM card with one telco but with prepaid, users can select whichever telco is offering a promotion at any given time,” Bui said at the time of interview.

With the app, the startup can compile the customer data that allows it to know in real-time the amount of money left in the customer’s account. This way, the startup can timely send proactive notifications that are tied to a promotion.

In just seven-month-long of operation, OnOnPay raised a six-digit round from Captii Ventures in 2015. Shortly after, in 2016, Captii Ventures continued its involvement in the startup by conducting the round that saw the unbanking-targeted fintech a US$800,000 Pre-series A fundraising, led by Gobi MAVCAP’s ASEAN SuperSeed Fund.

Early in 2018, Fenox Venture Capital, a Silicon Valley fund announced its entry into the Vietnamese market with an investment in OnOnPay.

NganLuong

NganLuong is a Vietnam-based online payment gateway that supports both global payment brands as well as local banks in Vietnam.

In April 2018, it announced a partnership between with VeriME, a Singapore-based fintech startup that offers blockchain-powered digital identity verification service (VaaS — Verification as a Service) that ensures that user authentication and verification process are done directly without any third party as a mediator.

With the partnership, NganLuong said it sought to build a more secure economic ecosystem that’s hopefully immune to identity thefts and complying with Local Data Sovereignty.

TheBank.vn

TheBank.vn is a financial comparison app established in 2014. Using the TheBank.vn’s platform, customers can compare and evaluate products such as credit cards, unsecured loans, mortgage loans, savings interest rates, and insurance products.

The company also provides advice, connections, and a package of financial product distribution packages for banks and insurance companies using its technology.

Earlier this year, TheBank.vn announced the completion of its first round of funding from CyberAgent Capital and Ncore. The amount of investment is undisclosed.

Tima

Fintech startup Tima provides a consumer finance marketplace and P2P lending platform for the Vietnam market.

For lenders, Tima uses bank accounts at Nam A Bank to hold and manage the money they are willing to lend. Borrowers use this avenue to pay off their debts.

In October 2018, the company announced that it has raised a US$3 million Series B funding round from private equity fund Belt Road Capital Management (BRCM), pushing the company’s valuation close to US$20 million.

Appota Pay

Appota Pay is a part of Appota Group, a Vietnamese mobile-based platform company. Appota Pay’s services include payment gateway, e-wallet Appota Wallet, e-voucher by Appota Card, and shop hub for online payment assistant tool.

In April 2027, Appota Group announced that it has closed an undisclosed Series C round from Korea Investment Partners and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.

Also Read: How Vietnam is accelerating fintech growth

According to Appota Founder and CEO Do Tuan Anh, the investment put the company’s valuation at “approaching US$50 million”.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) announced the draft on national strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution back in August. As quoted in the article on The Star, in it, the country stated that it wants to have at least five billion-dollar tech firms, or unicorns, by 2025 and 10 by 2030.

With the exciting development happens on the ground in Vietnam, these fintechs are poised to grow bigger and dominate Vietnam’s market in the future. Along with not less than 100 fintechs listed in the country, these eight startups are on the radar with steady fundraising and could be the country’s first-ever unicorn.
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Photo by Chinh Le Duc on Unsplash

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