越南移动支付迈向数据社会

本案例研究于 2020 年 8 月合并

项目背景

过去几十年,数字化转型浪潮带来的巨大推动力推动着商业世界发生了翻天覆地的变化,其中创新的支付解决方案和平台在变革中发挥了重要作用。在许多国家,移动支付服务已成为人们日常生活中越来越重要的一部分。移动支付从一种新兴趋势迅速转变为许多人日常喜爱的交易方式,从而改变了商业运作方式。

越南互联网及智能手机普及率高,人口结构年轻化,金融普惠度低,这些都是移动支付发展的良好前提,而且移动支付市场才刚刚起步,进入越南市场正值良机。

作为日本一家在数字支付网络投资方面拥有丰富经验并在金融、零售、ICT 领域拥有资源的大型集团,我们的客户能够预见到该领域的潜力和重要性。从这个角度来看,客户和 B&Company 同意启动一项关于越南移动支付的研究项目,重点关注以下目标:

  • 在越南建立该业务的知识库,并从中长期愿景出发制定初步战略选择
  • 评估越南移动支付服务的增长潜力和未来可能的情况
  • 评估客户参与该业务的可能性并发展潜在的合作关系
客户 : 未公开
类型 : 市场研究、咨询
行业: 金融科技
日期 : 9/2018 – 2/2019
团队 : 中国、日本、越南

 

The project not only required overall market study, player evaluation but also included strategic planning and consulting. Additionally, the target business was quite new in Vietnam, which led to the needs for case study research and analysis of practices from different markets. It also raised another question of how to predict which model could be the most applicable in the case of Vietnam market. In order to do that, the research team (gathered from the Client team and B&Company) had to collaborate closely to choose the most relevant approaches and methodologies.

The fact that mobile payment record in Vietnam was young adds more challenges for the implementation, since related information and statistics were still limited. To be able to collect and combine data for a thorough and clear image over the market, the team had to look up various sources, conduct in-depth interviews with different major parties and players, then integrate collected data for further calculation and estimation at the highest accuracy. During the progress, communication was also a critical matter to keep the project running smoothly without any interruption or misinformation with the project team members based in 3 different countries (China, Japan, and Vietnam).

All in all, this was a considerably big project with a wide scope covering both global research and national study. To achieve the final goals, a lot of skills were needed to build up a plan and deliver good results, from research design, research skill, fieldwork coordination, data processing, teamwork to competent business planning and forecast. Thankfully, our team of international experts and enthusiastic local members, has successfully overcome difficulties and delivered an insightful report with market intelligence that promises to contribute to the client’s initiatives.

B&Company worked together with the Client to come up with the most comprehensible and effective solution for each stage.

  • Research design and planning

To better capture the whole image, we decided to approach from a big, general viewpoint to specifics through a 4-step scheme:

1) Study the world status of mobile payment and some typical case studies
2) Analyze Vietnam’s situation
3) Forecast future trends of the domestic market
4) Brainstorm for strategic options

To make comparison between global examples and Vietnam, our team agreed to use 5W1H model (Who-What-Where-When-Why-How) to evaluate each case and concluded what are similar and can be lessons for Vietnam.

More specifically, for Vietnam market study, our internal discussions led to the decision of an inclusive research, including desk search, in-depth interviews with government authorities and major players, surveys for micro retailers and Focus-Group-Discussion with customers.

  • Fieldwork implementation

The research scope and approaches required the team to be divided into sub-groups and conduct each part simultaneously. Weekly meetings and regular team check-ins were maintained to update progress and determine next steps.Despite the wide scope and heavy workload, the consultation from advisors as well as the attempt of skillful Vietnamese staffs were great attributes to the project success. Having deep expertise in conducting market research, we constantly discussed and utilized our internal/external resources and networks so as to find relevant candidates for interviews and carry out fieldwork with the best quality standard.

  • Reporting and consulting

Due to the project’s time pressure and demand to catch up with opportunities and prospective partnership, besides predefined milestones for interim/final reports, the executive team proactively organized a number of quick sessions to update the progress and new findings on-the-go directly with the Client. Being able to create a project team with our Client based on mutual trust, open discussion and idea sharing was one of the keys to the productivity and success of this project.

During the project implementation, we were sticking to the objectives, which were to evaluate the opportunity to enter Vietnam’s mobile payment market and outline the strategies accordingly.
Followings are some remarkable findings from the research results:

  • World status

Recorded statistics showed mobile payment was booming worldwide. However, there were different variations in practical success model in each country, depending on banking infrastructure, non-cash penetration, IT literacy or demand/trigger…At that time, it could be summarized in 4 main types of mobile payment development:

1) US type: Starting from OS-brand oriented mobile payment using contactless method, this type was mostly popular in developed countries where NFC cost was affordable
2) China type: This type was developed in many mid-developing countries, where Internet service providers were prominent mobile payment players. QR code was on the go, due to its low cost and easy technology
3) EU type: Mobile payment was an extended service provided by banks. This type was seen mostly in developed countries with high bank penetration ratio
4) Kenya type: In this model, mobile payment is supplied by Mobile Network Operators (MNO) using phone-based front-end technology, with the aim to support low-income consumers without smartphone or bank account

  • Vietnam status and forecast

We were all witnessing Vietnam’s modernization and globalization, which created both chances and challenges for mobile payment.Driving factors: With a young population very adaptive to new technologies, plus the stable increase of smartphone usage and e-commerce, there was a big chance for mobile payment. Vietnam’s government also planned to prioritize non-cash payments, in which mobile payment would be pointed out, too.Bottle-necks: Cash was still the most common payment method in every daily transaction. Infrastructure at an improper level, represented by low bank account ratio, was another hurdle.Many players had joined the Vietnam’s mobile payment market, but none showed an outstanding performance and great results. While a lot of foreign opponents intended to interfere but were restricted by some Vietnam’s regulations, domestic Internet services and MNOs had more advantages to develop in near future.

  • Opportunity for mobile payment and beyond

Based on what was found from the research, it could be seen that there was still room for new players joining the game. However, as long as the old cash habits of Vietnamese customers remained as a dominant payment option, the market would still be fragmented with no big dominators. Some ideas from in-depths interviews suggested it would take no less than 5 years until a majority of population will give up on cash and accept non-cash payment. That was such a long way to go.Nevertheless, we could see potential future mobile payment and related applications could bring to life, by enhancing a more convenient society architected by data gathering. From daily life businesses such as convenience store, vehicle booking… to public services like hospital, transportation management or smart city, mobile payment could be adopted and make life much easier. Eventually, the final destination of every country would be a Data Society, where mobile payment and other digitization shall become a bridge to connect and serve people.

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