What payment methods do I need to do e-commerce in Vietnam?

When conducting e-commerce business in Vietnam, the choice of payment methods needs to take into full consideration the local consumers' usage habits, financial infrastructure, and policy environment. Below are detailed analyses and recommendations for key payment methods:

I. Mainstream e-wallets (essential)

1. Momo(Market share over 50%)

• Advantage: more than 30 million users, support code payment, bill transfer
• Docking points: need to apply through the official merchant platform, pay attention to the transaction fee cap of 3%

2. ZaloPay(Strong social attributes)

• Features: Relying on Zalo social platform, suitable for young users
• Recently added feature: support for cross-border remittance interface

3. ViettelPay(Telecommunications background)

• Unique advantage: can be tied to Viettel mobile phone account debit
• Scenario: High penetration rate in rural areas

II. Bank transfer solutions

1. Local Bank Direct Connect

   • TOP5 Co-operative Bank:
     • Vietcombank (foreign exchange settlement optimisation)
     • Techcombank (technology interface refinement)
     • MB Bank (SME-friendly)

2. Virtual account programme
   -Recommended Service Provider:

   • NganLuong.vn (supports pre-authorised transactions)
   • Payoo (7 x 24 hour clearing)

III. Innovative cash payment programmes

1. COD Enhanced Edition
   -Suggests co-operative logistics:
   • Giao Hang Nhanh (GHN): Provision of collection insurance services
   • Viettel Post: Military-backed distribution network covers the country

2.Collection at retail outlets

• Circle K Convenience Store Network: Support for Generating Payment Barcodes for Offline Payments
• FPT Shop digital chain shops: suitable for high unit price goods collection

IV. Localisation of international card payments
1. VISA/Mastercard special requirements:
-Must go through a local acquiring bank (e.g. VNPAY)
-Additional "VBV Verification" page is required.

2. American Express.
-Only Sacombank is currently available for acquiring orders.

V. Emerging Trends Layout Recommendations
1. Crypto Payments Pilot.
-Fiat currency exchange channel available through Binance Vietnam

2. Buy Now Pay Later.
-Recommended by the partner:
- Fundiin (White Label Solutions)
- HomePay (Furniture & Appliances Vertical)

VI. Compliance with special attention to.
1.PSB licence application: monthly transaction volume of more than 5 billion VND (about $200,000) need to be recorded

2. Foreign exchange management: daily automatic settlement system, retaining at least 15% deposit

Technology Docking Tip.
All gateways must support the National Standard for QR Code (VNQR), with the Java SDK taking precedence over the PHP version.

It is recommended to start with the triple combination of "Momo+Vietcombank+GHN COD" at the initial stage, and expand it according to the characteristics of the category at a later stage. For example, ZaloPay should be added to the fashion category, and B2B business should focus on Bank Transfer.

VII. Payment gateway and aggregation platform options (technology docking programme)

In Vietnam, due to the highly decentralised payment methods, it is recommended to use theLocalised Aggregate Payment Gatewayor local adaptation solutions for international payment platforms to reduce technical interfacing costs and increase success rates.

1. Mainstream local aggregated payment service providers

(Suitable for small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses)

• VNPAY:

  • Banks and e-wallets covering 95% (Momo, ZaloPay, etc.)
  • Support one-click jump to APP payment (reduce user loss)
  • Well-documented API, T+1 settlement cycle

• OnePay:

  • VISA/Mastercard No. 1 in acquiring market share
  • COD fund custodian services (reducing the risk of rejection)

• Moca (GrabPay):
  Suitable for high-frequency transaction scenarios such as takeaways and taxis

2. Customised version of the international payment platform for Viet Nam (For cross-border sellers)

⚠️ Note: Direct use of Stripe Global may result in frozen funds due to Vietnam exchange controls! You must apply for Stripe Vietnam test access.

Eight, instalment payment (Buy Now Pay Later, BNPL) operating strategy

Vietnam's BNPL market is growing at an annual rate of more than 1,201 TP3T, with a focus on partner organisations:

1. Fundiin (most mature)

   • Mode of cooperation: 0 down payment / 3 interest-free instalments (with discount costs borne by the e-commerce company)
   • Risk control features: Social Accounts + Telecom Data Cross Verification

2. HomePay (for large items)

   • Maximum 12 instalments Interest rate 8%/year
   • Recommended Categories : Home appliances, mobile phones, luxury goods

3. MoMo's instalment channel
   -Requires additional sign-up access, but user conversion rate is higher than regular wallets 30%

📌 Operational Recommendations:

• The words "Interest Free" must be marked in Vietnamese "TRẢ GÓP LÃI SUẤT 0%".
• Average instalment amount for users in HO CHI MINH is 1.7 times higher than in Hanoi

 IX. "Cash Economy" Special Play - Prepaid Card System
Innovative solutions for the unbanked:
✔️ PostPay Card" issued by Vietnam Post:
   -100,000 par valueVND 5 million (≈4 per cent)($200)
   -Rechargeable at 14,000 post office outlets nationwide

✔️ MobileCard Points Interchange:
  Payment by redeeming Viettel/Vinaphone card 
  Applicable game point card/virtual merchandise sales

X. "Anti-fraud and Compliance Checklist"
🚨 A guide to high-risk behaviour avoidance:
1️⃣Card Decline Rate >2% will be suspended from acquiring by VNPAY 
👉 Countermeasures: mandatory OTP SMS verification + logistics signing photo archiving 

2️⃣ eWallet Money Laundering Monitoring Thresholds.
- Momo: single >10 million VND (≈$400) automatically reported to SBV 
- ZaloPay: Daily accumulation of >30 million VND on the same account triggers manual review 

3. Required legal documents.
▸ PDPA Consent for Personal Data Protection (new regulation 2023)
▸ VAT invoice generation interface (link to IRS e-invoice system)

XI. [Practical Case] Lazada Vietnam's Hybrid Payment Architecture
📊Share of each channel ref.
- MoMo:38%
- Bank Transfer:25%
- COD Cash:22%
- International Cards (VNPAY processing): 12%
- BNPL(Fundiin):3%

⚙️ Technology Stack Highlights.
→ Intelligent routing algorithm prioritises the wallet that the user has recently used 
→ COD orders are automatically insured against loss of payment of goods by GHN 

Recommendations for Next Steps 🔜:
If monthly GMV is expected to be <$500,000 → Directly interface with VNPAY + Momo official APIs 
If cross-border money flows are involved → register Airwallex + local law firm filing PSD file