A customer in Fahasa Book Store in HCMC is processing a self-checkout (Photo: SGGP)

Statistics reveal that the total value of Vietnam’s products is expected to reach a CAGR of 20 percent in 2025, from US$30 billion this year to nearly $45 billion two years later. This is the leading contribution of e-commerce, online tourism, and digital payment. Vietnam will continue to have the fastest growth rate of digital economy in Southeast Asia, and its top position will maintain in 2025 (the same as the Philippines at that time).

“The digital economy of Vietnam has a great potential thanks to the popularity of digital applications and a highly skillful, self-training workforce, who are actively boosting innovation throughout the country”, commented Fock Wai Hoong from Temasek Group.

Andrea Campagnoli – Office Head cum Founding Partner of Bain & Company in Vietnam – shared that Vietnam has displayed a positive growth in its digital economy, especially in the investment volume in the first half of 2023 compared to last year.

Online payment is obviously an inevitable part of a digital economy. QR-code payment has become the most popular trend and is gaining an increasing proportion. According to the NAPAS payment system, in the third quarter of 2023, the use of VietQR for payment doubled in quantity to reach more than 100 million transactions per month.

Payoo online payment system also informed that the use of QR codes to pay for goods and services online via this platform in the third quarter this year rose by 6 percent in quantity and 30 percent in value compared to the previous quarter. On-site QR-code payment also saw a development of 8 percent in quantity and nearly 20 percent in value, accounting for a rise of 44 percent as opposed to the first 3 months of the year.

Notably, formerly, QR codes were only popular in transactions for goods purchasing or eating services. Now it is more chosen to pay utilities bills as well, with an increase of 2.6 times from the second to the third quarter of 2023.

Co-founder of MoMo e-wallet service Nguyen Ba Diep commented that with their natural love for technology implementation, the young are the main force to accelerate the digital transformation process and promote the trend of digital payment in Vietnam. They are effectively spreading that new consumer fashion based on the digital economy.

At present, about 2.5 million people in Vietnam are choosing MoMo as their digital payment method for more than 90 percent of public administrative services offered on the National Public Service e-Portal, plus another 1 million selecting it for other public services. Nearly 4,300 schools nationwide, including most schools in HCMC, accept school fee payment via MoMo. 148 hospitals and clinics throughout the country also approve this app in their list of payment options.

CEO Marc Woo of Google Asia-Pacific in charge of Vietnam shared that the digital economy in Vietnam is developing in the correct direction, and most key fields are expected to continue this strong growth rate despite many challenges ahead.