Analysis of digital wallet user behaviour in Vietnam

The analysis of user behaviour for digital wallets in Vietnam can be carried out on the following key dimensions:

1. Market context and growth drivers

  • High mobile penetration: Vietnam's smartphone penetration rate exceeds 70%, providing a hardware foundation for digital wallets.
  • youth dividend: Approximately 70% of the population is under 35 years of age and has a high level of acceptance of mobile payments.
  • Policy support: The government is promoting a "cashless society", with e-payment transactions growing by more than 50% year-on-year in 2023 (State Bank of Vietnam data).
  • E-commerce explosion: Platforms like Lazada, Shopee drive demand for online payments, e-commerce GMV reaches $20bn by 2023

2. User profiling and behavioural characteristics

(1) Core user groups

  • Age distribution: 18-35 years old mainly (accounted for 65%), students and young white-collar workers are the main force.
  • Geographical differences::
    • municipalities(Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi): High-frequency usage scenarios are takeaways, online rides, and online shopping;
    • countryside: More for phone bill top-ups, utility bill payments.

(2) Motivation for use

  • Convenience first75% users choose digital wallets because they "don't need to carry cash" (VNPay research 2022).
  • inclusive financeNeed: Only 34% adults have bank accounts, digital wallet fills service gap.

(3) TOP usage scenarios

take percentage Representative platforms
P2P transfers 42% MoMo, ZaloPay
QR Code Offline Payment 38% ViettelPay, VNPay
Gaming/Entertainment Recharge 15% Airpay

3. Competitive landscape and platform strategy

(1) Comparison of Head Players

norm MoMo (market share 45%) ZaloPay (30%)
cutting edge -Early first mover advantage
-Integration of the Grab ecosystem		 -Bundled with Zalo Social App (60 million users)
shortcomings -Lower merchant coverage than VNPay -Insufficient rural penetration

(2) Emerging trends*

4. Deep insights into user behaviour and emerging trends

(1) High-frequency, low-value transactions dominate

  • Micropayment preferences: The average single transaction amount is around VND120,000 (~US$5) and 70% is below VND200,000 (MoMo Annual Report 2023).
  • Daily Activity Driving Scenarios::
    • Breakfast/Street Coffee: QR code payments account for more than 60% (especially in cities);
    • Motorbike refuelling: VNPay penetrates the petrol station scenario through the Petrolimex partnership.

(2) Significant social fission effect

  • Bonuses and incentives::
    • ZaloPay's Chinese New Year Red Packet campaign drove one million new users in a single day;
    • MoMo's "Shake & Go" offline conversion rate increased by 25%.
  • KOL Impact: TikTok Netflix promoted the #CashlessChallenge topic and saw a 3x increase in related payments.

(3) Rising Demand for "Super App" Integration

  • Non-Payment Function Stickiness::
    TOP additional services for users using digital wallets:

    1. Film Ticket Purchase (64%)
    2. Insurance instalments (e.g. MoMo with Prudential)
    3. P2P lending (40% acceptance by young users)

5. Pain points and challenges

Type of problem concrete expression Case data
barrier of confidence -Rural users worried about security of funds
-Operational barriers for the elderly		 仅28%50岁以上人群使用数字钱包
Uneven coverage of merchants -Small vendors refused to collect due to high handling fees
-Cashback competition		 Convenience store coverage in Ho Chi Minh City 82% vs. 35% in rural areas
Cross-border Payment Short Board -Difficulty in meeting the remittance needs of the Vietnamese diaspora
-Lack of multi-currency support		 Annual cross-border remittance demand exceeds $3bn

6. Suggestions for future points of opportunity

(1) Sinking market attack strategy

  • Agent Point NetworkReplication of ViettelPay's "Post Office + Convenience Store" agency model (98% counties covered);
  • Dialect voice assistant: Introduced the Da Nang accent recognition function for the central mountainous region.

(2) Scenario Innovation Direction