Vietnamese e-wallet secures series A financing from KB Financial Group

Gpay, a Vietnam-based e-wallet of G-Group Technology Corporation, has secured an undisclosed amount in a series A funding from South-Korea KB Financial Group.

Gpay secures series A financing from KB Financial Group. Photo: G-Group

This comes nearly one year after the startup was granted a 10-year operational license from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). The fresh funds will be used to expand its team and customer base as well as upgrade its tech solutions. The latest investment round valued the local payment company at VND425 billion (US$18.4 million).

Established in 2018, Gpay joins the extremely competitive e-wallet market, where there are nearly 40 licensed players. Gpay’s goal is to reach five million users by 2023, according to Mr. Nguyen Thuan Chat, the co-founder and CEO of GPayment Joint Stock Company, G-Group subsidiary.

At an event on January 19 in Hanoi, KB Financial and G-Group also announced the establishment of a US$13 million fintech joint venture. G-Group also owns other tech platforms such as Tima (peer-to-peer lending), F88 (financial services), and Gapo (social networking) with the aim of reaching more than 30 million users. 

Earlier, local e-wallet player MoMo, owning more than 10 million users, also received its series D funding, co-led by Warburg Princus and Silicon Valley-based VC firm Goodwater Capital on January 13. The fresh investment will be used to drive its ambition of becoming a super-app and kickstart its own investment arm, called Innovation Ventures, to “back local startups that can be integrated into Momo’s app”, according to e27, Asian tech media platform. 

This is a golden time to invest in Vietnam thanks to the growing demand for e-payment, according to local insiders, especially due to Covid-19, people are resorting to non-cash payments. The SBV has encouraged the Vietnamese consumers to limit paying in cash and turn to digital payments to reduce the risk of infection. 

A recent report entitled “Mobile payment usage in Vietnam 2020” by online research market firm Asian Plus found that 31% of respondents in Ho Chi Minh City and 24% in Hanoi use three and more than three e-wallet brands. Meanwhile, the portfolio in other locations is only 12%. 

Momo is the dominant player in the e-wallet market, achieving 73% top-of-mind, 94% total awareness and is used most often by 61% of users, followed by Viettelpay, Airpay and Zalopay, according to the survey.