However, many e-wallets and bank apps can be used to buy phone cards and cinema tickets, or pay electricity/water bills.

Commercial banks, which have mobile bank apps of their own, have launched apps specifically designed for certain customers. 

Sacombank, for example, has launched Sacombank Pay, a type of wallet. Vietcombank has VCB Pay, BIDV has BIDV Pay+, TP Bank has Savy and VPBank has YOLO.

Most credit institutions say that these apps are different from normal Mobile Banking apps. However, the number of services is still modest, with only popular services such as ticket booking and electricity bill payments provided.

Meanwhile, e-wallets, the rival of the banks’ ‘…Pay’ apps, are diverse. MoMo and Payoo hold firm positions in the market. Newcomers such as ZaloPay and AirPay, owned by SEA-Garena, are racing to lure more customers through promotion campaigns. 

Who will be the winner, fintechs’ e-wallets, or banks’ apps?

In China, WeChat Pay and Alipay have seven times more users than the average number of users of five leading banks.

Most e-wallets in Vietnam have their own advantages. ZaloPay, for example, has many kinds of apps. 

Most bank services available now cannot compare in quantity, coverage and diversification. The banks’ apps focus on simple payment services, such as payments for electricity bills, public administration services or transportation.

However, the number of online banking users is on the rise. A report found that in 2017, in emerging Asian countries, 52 percent of urban customers used digital banking, higher than the 33 percent in 2014.

In fact, e-wallets and banking apps have two different group of customers. Banks can provide financial services to customers, such as deposits, lending, insurance and investment. Fast Mobile of Techcombank, for instance, allows users to connect investment funds.

An analyst said joining the technological race is a must for banks, because bank apps will help retain customers and also collect important information about customer behaviors, which can inform business strategies.

However, banks not only have to compete with payment fintechs, but also new fintechs operating in the personal and corporate finance sector.

Foreign investors are scrambling to cash in on Vietnam’s e-payment platforms as they see a boom of e-commerce as well as a spread of mobile devices. Warburg Pincus has announced the investment in Series C fundraising round of Vietnamese e-wallet and e-payment app MoMo.

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