10 January 2018

MatchMove to Tap the 20 million Uncarded Smartphone Users and Provide Digital Payment Solutions in Vietnam

Gaming, tourism, retail and e-commerce sectors will benefit from MatchMove’s mobile payment solutions

Singapore and Vietnam, 10 January 2018 – MatchMove, Asia’s leading and disruptive mobile/digital payments companies, today announced it will be focusing its efforts to digitise payments across sectors like gaming, tourism, digital disbursement, retail and e-commerce in Vietnam. People who are relying on cash and other traditional payment methods in these segments will benefit from fast, safe and reliable in-app mobile payments. This mobile digitised payment solution provided by MatchMove also aligns with Vietnam’s no-cash policy signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ to reduce cash-based transactions in favour of electronic payments across the country by 2020.

Moving from cash to digital can provide enormous direct advantages to businesses, governments and consumers. Digital payments are generally far more convenient and can save labour, time and costs for all parties.

MatchMove has been providing innovative enterprise solutions to help businesses monetise their user base, increase revenue, user engagement, and build brand loyalty through the strategic use of secured, certified, customisable cloud-based platforms across Southeast Asia and multiple global markets. Uniquely, MatchMove is one of the very few worldwide mobile payment platforms (as a service) authorised by American Express and MasterCard to issue cards directly to users in approved jurisdictions, or anywhere else in the world with partner banks.

In Vietnam, MatchMove has been working closely with corporations such as TienPhong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) and VTC Intecom. MatchMove has also been enabling leading banks and brands across several industries – including e-commerce, transport and e-wallets – using a financial platform to help millions of users globally to access bank-grade mobile payments and remittance services.

According to a recent study by Appota and Google, the internet penetration rate in Vietnam stands at 52 percent. Mobile subscriptions have increased to 131.9 million with the smartphone ownership reaching 72 percent and 53 percent in urban and rural areas respectively. In urban areas, smartphone ownership almost quadrupled from 20 percent in 2013 to 72 percent in 2016. However, there is still a huge group of unbanked and uncarded users. Notably, more than 20 million smartphone users still do not have access to international payment cards to make purchase on app stores. These result in a huge demand for virtual prepaid cards to shop in the online market.

In Vietnam, unlike other countries such as Singapore, it is not compulsory to implement 3D Secure. Carded users still hesitate to use their international credit or debit cards online fearing the CVC number on the card getting compromised. Equipped with solutions from MatchMove, all users will be able to get a Dynamic CVC number when they shop online, thus making it a more secure solution.

According to a report by the National Administration of Tourism in Vietnam, the number of international and local tourists increase year on year with the growth rate of local tourists at 58 percent and foreign tourists at 26 percent in 2016. Carrying large amounts of cash brings a risk to travellers. MatchMove will offer tourism companies to produce a prepaid card system which they can sell to tourists. Tourists can use it to buy souvenirs, pay for flight tickets, book hotels and cover transportation services without worrying about security issues.

The gaming industry in Vietnam is popular. According to Vietnam Game Mobile Market Report 2016, Vietnam is the third highest countries that has the highest revenue in mobile gaming in Southeast Asia, at 16 percent revenue of the overall in the region. The growth rate of Vietnam’s mobile games market reached 18 percent in 2016. By the end of 2016, the number of gamers in Vietnam rose to 36 million, with 61 percent playing mobile games. The most common payment method is the mobile scratch card which takes 85 percent of the overall gaming market. Recently, VTC Intecom and MatchMove Pay announced their collaboration for a new mobile payment service for up to 30 million users, making VTC the first major online games developer and publisher to partner with MatchMove Pay in Vietnam. The agreement between the two organisations includes cooperation on market research and advanced strategy for further expansion of the heavily demanded mobile virtual card platform in Vietnam. MatchMove will provide its PCI-DSS certified technical platform, advanced services as well as training, consultancy and knowledge sharing of developments in other international markets serviced by MatchMove.

Speaking on behalf of MatchMove, Ms Priscilla Le, Senior Vice President, Indochina & Singapore, MatchMove said, “As more customers turn towards technology to conduct bank transactions, Vietnam offers a huge potential for digital banking. With more people having access to the internet, commercial banks have been developing internet banking services on mobile devices to offer better services to its customers. According to a report conducted by business intelligence firm Dezan Shira & Associates, close to 44 percent of commercial bank customers have engaged in digital services in 2016 including funds transfer, bank cards, and internet banking leading amongst all services. Apart from banks, companies in the gaming and tourism industries are other potential segments can also add value to their customers by offering digital solutions.

To promote digital banking, commercial banks in collaboration with digital payments service providers have launched promotions to incentivise digital banking services such as bonus interest rates for deposits and discounts on e-payment of utility bills. Banks should continue to invest in technology in spite of high costs, which will be cost effective in comparison to expanding branch networks. Transactions conducted through digital channels are predicted to contribute 40 percent of banking revenue by 2018.”

About MatchMove

MatchMove enables companies to offer a fully branded secure mobile wallet solution, increasing revenue and user engagement. A member of the Mastercard network, MatchMove proprietary Wallet OS™ is built with the vision of strengthening financial inclusion through enabling its Spend, Send, Lend™ capabilities across developed and developing markets. The MatchMove Wallet OS™ includes services such as Payment Cards, Cross-Border Money Transfers, and Credit Scoring. MatchMove has been recognised internationally with awards including Singapore’s fastest growing technology company 2013 in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific, “Top Global Innovator 2014” in the Global FinTech Competition, and Most Promising Solutions Provider 2016 – Banking and Software by APAC CIO Outlook. MatchMove is headquartered in Singapore with offices in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Philippines, and the USA, and opening new offices in South Africa and Dubai to support its global growth.

For more media enquiries, please contact

Alicia Neo
alicia@matchmove.com