Vietnam Payments Industry 2025 Trend Forecast

Trends in Vietnam's payments industry in 2025 will be driven by a combination of digital economy expansion, policy support and changing consumer behaviour. Below are key trend forecasts and analyses:

1. The explosive growth of mobile payments and e-wallets

  • driving force: smartphone penetration (projected to reach 80% by 2025), demand for convenient payments from a young population (70% under 35), and continued innovation from homegrown platforms such as Momo, ZaloPay and VNPAY.
  • Data support: Vietnam's e-wallet users have exceeded 40 million in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 30%, and the penetration rate is expected to exceed 50% in 2025 or so.
  • challenge: Cash dependency still exists (cash transaction share is currently around 60%), which needs to be addressed through merchant-side rollout and coverage in rural areas.

2. Accelerated integration of cross-border payments

  • RCEP and regional cooperation: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) will boost trade between China and Vietnam, driving demand for cross-border payments. Alipay and WeChat Pay may strengthen cooperation with local partners.
  • Case References: Vietnam's border trade with China's Guangxi has piloted digital currency settlements, which may be expanded to more scenarios in the future.

3. Deep cooperation between banks and fintech

  • Open Banking Trends: The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) plans to improve its open API framework to promote data sharing between traditional banks and fintechs.

4. Rapid spread of buy now pay later (BNPL)

  • market potential: Strong demand for instalment payments from young Vietnamese consumers (18-35 years old) and growth in e-commerce (projected to reach $$3.9bn in 2025) drive BNPL services.
  • Representative companies: local platform Fundiin, Moca's staging programme with Grab, and the expansion of international players such as Atome.
  • Regulatory developments: SBV may introduce BNPL-specific regulations governing credit risk assessment and interest rate caps.

5. Digital currencies and blockchain payment pilots on the ground

  • policy orientation: The Vietnamese government plans to test a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2024-2025, prioritising cross-border remittances and government subsidy disbursements.
  • Private sector applications: Some companies may accept stable currencies (e.g. USDT) for settlement, especially in import and export trade to reduce exchange rate risk.

6. Super App ecosystem dominates the payment scene