As an emerging economy in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is rising at a remarkable pace—with 72% of its 100 million population being internet users and an 84% smartphone penetration rate driving mobile payments into every corner, from bustling cities to local coffee stalls. Young adults aged 18-35, accounting for over 40% of the population, fuel this digital revolution by embracing mobile payments, e-commerce, and cross-border shopping, propelling a 45% surge in electronic payment transactions in just one year. Yet opportunities come with challenges: cash still dominates 55% of transactions, even as the government pushes aggressively toward its cashless society goal by 2025. Meanwhile, cross-border payment demand is skyrocketing alongside nine consecutive years of trade surplus. In this land of untapped potential, who will emerge as the game-changer, seamlessly bridging Vietnam’s e-wallets with the global payment landscape?
With a population of 100 million, Vietnam ranks as the third most populous nation in Southeast Asia. The country benefits from a remarkably young demographic structure, with a median age of 32.5 years. The 18-35 age cohort accounts for over 40% of the population, continuously energizing the consumer market. Urbanization continues at a steady pace, with 38% of the population (approximately 37.3 million people) residing in urban areas, predominantly concentrated in Ho Chi Minh City (9 million inhabitants) and Hanoi (8 million inhabitants).
Digital infrastructure development has been impressive, with internet users reaching 72 million, representing a 73% penetration rate. Smartphone adoption remains high at 84%, creating solid foundations for mobile payment systems and other digital economy initiatives. Vietnam's demographic dividend, when combined with its exceptionally high smartphone penetration rate, is injecting tremendous consumption potential and demand into the country's development, particularly in sectors like e-commerce, gaming, and digital finance.
Vietnam's GDP reached $476 billion in 2024, maintaining a healthy growth rate of 7.09%. Manufacturing (37.6%) and services (42.4%) together account for over 80% of the total national GDP, forming the economy’s twin pillars.
Vietnam has established trade relations with more than 150 countries and territories worldwide. In recent years, the country's foreign trade has maintained rapid growth, playing a significant role in driving economic development.
2024 Vietnam Foreign Trade Data：
Total import-export turnover: Approximately $786.29 billion, up 15.4% year-on-year.
Exports: $405.53 billion (+14.3%)
Imports: $380.76 billion (+16.7%)
Trade surplus: $24.77 billion (9th consecutive year of surplus).
Major Trading Partners of Vietnam
Primary partners: China, the United States, the EU, ASEAN, Japan, and South Korea.
Main Export Products: Crude oil, garments & textiles, aquatic products, footwear, rice, timber, electronics, coffee.
Key export markets: EU, U.S., ASEAN, Japan, China.
Main Import Products: Automobiles, machinery & spare parts, petroleum products, steel, textile materials, electronics & components.
Key import sources: China, ASEAN, South Korea, Japan, EU, U.S.
Driven by the government's "cashless society" strategy, Vietnam's electronic payment market has experienced exponential growth, with transaction value increasing by 45% year-on-year in 2023. The market structure has largely taken shape, with Momo，ZaloPay，VNPay，ShopeePay dominating the Vietnam e-wallet markets.
MoMo - The undisputed market leader commands a 56% market share with over 31 million active users. Its dominance stems from two key strengths: a comprehensive bill payment ecosystem and unparalleled offline merchant coverage, making it the most versatile payment solution nationwide.
ZaloPay - Leveraging deep integration with Vietnam's popular Zalo social platform (with 100 million+ users), this second-ranked player holds 23% market share and serves 21 million users. Its social-commerce synergy creates unique user retention.
VNPAY - As the banking sector's flagship mobile payment solution, it captures 15% of the market. The platform excels in transportation services, owning strategic partnerships in ride-hailing and public transit payment systems.
ShopeePay - The e-commerce specialist, powered by Sea Group's Shopee platform, focuses on online shopping scenarios. Though currently holding 4% market share, its growth potential in Vietnam's booming e-commerce sector remains significant.
Market differentiation is clearly evolving along three dimensions: MoMo's lifestyle ecosystem, ZaloPay's social integration, VNPAY's institutional advantages, and ShopeePay's e-commerce specialization - reflecting the maturing segmentation of Vietnam's digital payment industry.
Despite the rapid development of electronic payments in Vietnam, cash transactions still account for 55% of total transactions, a phenomenon particularly prevalent in rural areas and among small merchants. To address this situation, the Vietnamese government has set a clear target to reduce cash payments to 30% by 2025 and is accelerating the transition to cashless payments through multiple initiatives: On one hand, it is vigorously promoting the adoption of local digital wallets like MoMo and ZaloPay while improving electronic payment infrastructure in both urban and rural areas; on the other hand, it is actively advancing cross-border payment innovations—not only conducting pilot interoperability projects with regional payment systems such as Thailand's PromptPay and Singapore's PayNow, but also deepening cooperation with China's UnionPay. By expanding UnionPay card acceptance in Vietnam and exploring the integration of UnionPay QR codes with local payment networks, Vietnam has significantly enhanced payment convenience for Sino-Vietnamese cross-border trade and tourism consumption. These systemic changes are reshaping Vietnam's payment ecosystem, meeting domestic cashless demands while providing crucial support for regional digital economic integration.