Budget carrier Vietjet plans to set up e-payment firm

Khanh Minh Tuesday | 06/16/2020 14:03

Illustrative. Photo: telenor.com

The Vietjet Air board of directors has approved plan to set up an e-wallet service in which it holds 51 percent stake, statement said.

The new Vietjet subsidiary is scheduled to have a charter capital of VND50 billion ($2.17 million). Owners of the remaining 49 percent stake have not been disclosed.

The carrier’s leaders assigned Ho Ngoc Yen Phuong, deputy general director and CFO of the company, to manage the incorporation of the company.

Earlier, during a meeting between PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and private businesses in March, Phuong asked the government and the State Bank of Vietnam to allow Vietjet to set up the e-wallet subsidiary.

Vietjet, which has revenues of around $2 billion a year, and collects a lot of it in cash, needs an e-wallet to capture the potential of the digital business, the company said.

Vietnam is promoting cashless transaction. A recent survey by Visa showed that 74 percent of Vietnamese expect their cashless transactions to increase in the next 12 months since the acceptance of cashless payments is increasing and carrying cash would no longer be needed.

In addition, the carrier revealed that it is developing a Super-APP that not only sells air tickets, but customers can also purchase products and services such as hotel booking, car rentals, and financial loans.