Metamask is a cryptocurrency wallet with the highest number of users in the world, including in Vietnam.

In November 2023, the payment method via Viettel Pay appeared on the wallet. At that moment, Viettel affirmed that Viettel Money did not cooperate with any trading floor or partner to provide payment services for cryptocurrency transactions. 

Viettel Money might work with Metamask and the payment method would be removed from Metamask’s system later.

However, just one month later, Viettel Pay once again appeared on the cryptocurrency e-wallet. Other payment methods have also been available, via domestic banks, Mobile Money and VietQR. 

When VietNamNet reporters tried to buy cryptocurrencies and conduct some operations, they could also see other payment methods via MoMo, which is a well-known Vietnamese e-wallet, and ZaloPay, a well-known Vietnamese social network.

When customers choose to make payment via MoMo, ZaloPay, Viettel Pay and VietQR, they will have to pay 3.5 percent in processing fees. Meanwhile, if they make transactions via online banking service such as Techcombank, VTB Bank, BIDV and ACB, they have to pay 2.5 percent.

After some attempts to buy cryptocurrencies with these methods, VietNamNet reporters found that all these payment methods were P2P (peer to peer) payment, which means a payment a customer makes directly to another person. This is a common payment method that has been used by illegal business services for a long time in the Vietnamese market.

ZaloPay has affirmed that it doesn’t have partners or cooperation with Metamask or any other cryptocurrency apps, and that the use of payment channels to buy/sell cryptocurrencies is a breach of law.

ZaloPay said it has been examining transactions regularly and if it discovers any users exploiting ZaloPay to carry out cryptocurrency trade, it will handle the violators in accordance with the laws.

MoMo’s communications executive also said the e-wallet doesn’t have any cooperation with Metamask, including payment services.

According to experts, using e-wallets or bank accounts to buy cryptocurrencies is not prohibited by the law. However, using cryptocurrencies for making transactions is a violation of the law.

They warned that the P2P transaction methods pose high risks for users and are vulnerable to fraud, especially investments related to cryptocurrencies and forex. Most of the service providers are foreign owned.

In P2P transactions, if disputes occur, appropriate agencies will find it difficult to investigate the transactions, because cash flow continuously rotates among accounts. This is also why in online fraud cases that have occurred, most victims cannot get their money back.

Le My