The story of fintech company behind 100,000 billion bill payment transactions each year through the system of 40 banks, Grab, Mobile World

In early April, Vinhomes Management sent a letter to residents about the suspension of direct collection of service charges at the front desk of the buildings. Residents can use the online payment forms via VinID e-wallet, Internet Banking or at bank transaction points.

Originated from the payment gateway of an online video game

In a recent interview with Zoom, Mr. Ngo Trung Linh, General Director of VietUnion Online Services Joint Stock Company (VietUnion) shared about the establishment of Payoo, the foundation behind payment transactions. applications through Grab (Moca), VinID, Mobile World stores, FPTShop, Vinmart … with a total transaction value of VND 100,000 billion / year.

Mr. Ngo Trung Linh (middle)

Starting from the years 2007-2008, starting from gaming payment gateway, the group in charge of technical operations at Saigon Telecom Technology Joint Stock Company (SaigonTel), observed and realized the need for delivery. Electronic transactions did not stop at online game transactions but the payment market at that time was very primitive. From that point of view, VietUnion was born, taking the brand Payoo, started developing online payment tools for e-commerce.

However, it took a long time for Vietnamese e-commerce to form and develop like today. In order to survive and develop, Payoo observes that payment of bills in Vietnam is quite rudimentary. In the past, the electricity and water collectors came to each house to collect money during office hours, the amount was announced too much on the bills, but nowadays it is difficult for young families to pay their bills at home. this. Therefore, from 2011 to 2012, the company focused on building a platform to support the implementation of bill payment, after it was acquired by Japanese shareholder NTT Data, a giant in the field of bill payment. Japan poured capital.

“We have actively connected directly to the electricity and electricity partners of the electricity and water partners. In the period of 2012-2013, it was difficult to reach state companies because their technical infrastructure was quite rudimentary, so we help them create an electronic channel through which customers can pay and see their debt online. To build trust with people in the early days, we work online. Next to the electricity facilities to put information on the website, the information desk about Payoo being the authorized partner of utility bill payment, At the same time, we connect with banks, customers to the bank. Every transaction has additional services, they will gradually become familiar.

The women who went to the supermarket saw the payment counter, the associated partners were well-known partners in the market and had high trust such as Vingroup, FPT shop, Mobile World, Pico, Media Mart, Family Mart .. People find it quite familiar, thereby building trust, customers feel more reliable. End customers find the new payment method more suitable to the previous way, “said Linh about the days of building the first brick.

Payoo = Pay Online + Offline

Payoo is pronounced “Pay-You”, carrying the message “pay you”, which stands for Pay Online and Offline. This means not only online payment on the internet, but also including convenience store counters.

More than 350 service providers connect payment systems with Payoo’s platform

Payoo data shows that the platform is now linked to 40 banks, more than 300 businesses and connects with nearly 12,000 payment support points nationwide. Customers can easily pay bills anytime, anywhere via electronic wallets such as Zalo Pay, VinID, SenPay, Moca (Grab); convenience store system, electronics store, technology store, supermarket …, such as Mobile World, FPT Shop, VinMart, VinMart +, Circle K, FamilyMart, B’s mart, Ministop, Phamarcity … or pay at Bank counters, online payment on websites, via bank applications or Payoo.

Mr. Linh shared, “Payoo wants to be a partner to help build a useful payment channel for Vietnam. No channel is the best, even serving 3-5% of customers. then I will also find solutions to serve. How rural areas, small shops can also access to new tools.

Access both online and offline to cover all types of customers, from young people having access to technology, paying school fees, insurance, internet, to housewives who have the habit of going to the market You can go to convenience stores or supermarkets like Vinmart, Lotte, Aeon, … to pay for electricity and water. And these are regular payments, so it will help create familiar customers for convenience store chains.

After 12 years of operation, Payoo’s platform can handle payments for more than 350 types of service bills such as electricity, water, telephone, television, internet, finance, insurance …, with a total value of handling Payoo transactions via about 100,000 billion VND / year (equivalent to more than 4 billion USD). The growth rate of total processing value per transaction of this platform reaches 50% per year during the past 5 years. The company currently serves 20 million people in Vietnam.

However, when talking about Payoo, General Director Ngo Trung Linh was quite humble and said that “Payoo considers itself a platform builder to help its partners create more efficient and faster services. As an extension arm of the banking system, and as the driving force behind successful partners, as our partners grow, we grow as well.We want Vietnam’s online payment payment service. equivalent to developed countries “.

Why do Grab, VinID and banking partners need Payoo’s infrastructure?

Answering the writer’s question, Mr. Ngo Trung Linh shared that during the past 9 years Payoo has connected with more than 350 service providers, and this number will continue to increase in the near future. With banking systems or convenience stores, e-wallets, instead of having to connect to each partner individually, and it can take 4-5 years to do as Payoo is doing, then if Cooperation only takes 3-4 weeks. “It is better for partners to devote resources to developing their core services.”

Payoo also provides infrastructure for machinery and electronics for partners to accept all payments. Through a connection, the bank has access to 12,000 stores nationwide. For mobile delivery units, stores can be equipped with small mobile POS machines that can be scanned on the spot with a card or QR.

Push to convert numbers

The Covid-19 outbreak this time has created an impetus for businesses to convert digital and change people’s consumption habits. For Payoo, that is an opportunity.

A unit in the field of education that previously hesitated to learn online now, because of Covid-19, they requested online services and parents paid tuition online. “Digital transformation is much faster,” Linh commented.

Over the past few years, after creating a monthly recurring billing connection Payoo has served approximately 20 million regular customers. The company has developed a range of modern payment acceptance tools that are suitable for the development of technology finance, such as payment by QR codes, allowing customers to choose multiple payments instead of payment. One-time payment (installment payment) …

There is a lot of land left to grow

Mr. Ngo Trung Linh shared that the willingness to approach new things of Vietnamese people is very high, this is reflected in the number of people who have mobile phones and internet connections everywhere. However, in the field of finance and banking, there is still a huge gap in access to technology finance, especially in remote areas. The number of people with bank accounts is still low. The Government has recently stepped up the legal framework to allow businesses in the fintech sector to flourish.

“Fintech companies still have many playgrounds to develop, we only have about 300,000 POSs while the number of small stores in Vietnam has to 2 million stores, besides the development of social networks making transactions. between individuals and individuals who buy and sell online, so the space is still very large In the near future, large technology corporations are gradually expanding new services, so fintech companies have many opportunities to develop developed together, “concluded Mr. Linh.