Uber signs first Southeast Asian e-wallet deal with Vietnam's MoMo

By Reuters/Mai Nguyen   November 28, 2017 | 07:49 pm PT
The move could help the firm catch up with its main regional rival Grab, which already has its own e-wallet service.
uber-signs-first-southeast-asian-e-wallet-deal-with-vietnams-momo

An Uber driver takes a client on a motorcycle in Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham

U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday signed a strategic deal with Vietnamese financial technology firm MoMo to allow passengers pay for rides using MoMo’s e-wallet, the pair said in a statement.

The deal is Uber’s first e-wallet partnership in Southeast Asia, home to 600 million people, and could help the firm catch up with main regional rival Grab which has its own e-wallet service.

“Vietnam is one of Uber’s fastest-growing Asian markets... MoMo’s five million app users already pay for utility bills, airline tickets and other services with the wallet,” Uber and MoMo said in the statement.

Last year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and a private-equity arm of Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.L) invested a combined $28 million in “fintech” firm MoMo, offering a means of tapping into Vietnam’s young, tech-savvy population.

“The partnership with Uber will open a seamless and cashless transport experience for the many Vietnamese without credit cards,” Nguyen Manh Tuong, MoMo Chief Operating Officer, said in the statement.

 
 
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