E-wallet turned financial assistant MoMo banks on ‘power of small things’: exec

MoMo e-wallet believes in the power of small things, Vietnamese ingenuity, technological advancement, and positive change, says Nguyen Manh Tuong, co-founder, vice chairman of the board, and CEO of MoMo.

He was speaking at an event organized in Ho Chi Minh City to announce a new brand positioning for MoMo, evolving from an e-wallet to a "financial assistant with AI.”

Tuong said MoMo will focus on providing financial services to underserved customers, those with limited access to traditional financial systems, thereby democratizing finance and promoting digital transformation.

Launched in November 2010 as an e-wallet service, MoMo expanded in May 2014 to a smartphone app offering essential services like money transfers, phone top-ups, and bill payments.

Over a decade since, MoMo has grown into a financial app, serving over 30 million users, partnering with 50,000 businesses, and collaborating with more than 70 banks and financial institutions as well as 300,000 payment acceptance points nationwide.

The company, which has been recognized as a technology unicorn (a private startup valued at $1 billion or more), has provided the country with an app platform that is one of the fastest-growing fintech applications globally.

"MoMo has significantly contributed to the development of the digital economy in Vietnam, enabling millions of users and businesses to participate in this space. We are committed to financial inclusion, helping users easily access financial services while reducing dependence on informal credit and fostering the growth of Vietnam's digital economy," said Tuong.

With the announcement of its new brand positioning, MoMo planned to leverage the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform product development and innovation, creating simple, low-cost products with partners to better serve customers, he added.

The new vision is to popularize financial services, enhance financial inclusion and become a valuable resource for Vietnamese people to manage their finances flexibly and effectively, building a stable personal financial foundation.

"By using AI to transform product development and innovation, we will create straightforward, cost-effective products with partners to better serve our customers," Tuong said.

Highlighting MoMo's core beliefs, Tuong said: First, MoMo believes in the power of small things. Over a decade ago, we sought to provide money transfer services for workers who faced challenges in sending money home. The team asked how to make money transfers more convenient and sought to instill the belief in millions of customers that better management of daily expenses could improve their lives.

Second, MoMo has faith in Vietnamese ingenuity. In the past, MoMo encountered numerous challenges, but the skills of Vietnamese engineers proved invaluable.

Third, MoMo believes in the power of technology. Twenty or 30 years ago, transferring money was complicated, but today, it can be done in under a minute. In the next 5-10 years, technology is set to transform lives in ways we can't yet imagine.

Fourth, MoMo believes in positive outcomes. Many have asked how MoMo managed to connect with numerous banks in its early days. Perhaps it's because people were inspired by a genuine passion for excellence.

Thai Tri Hung, senior deputy general director and chief technology officer of MoMo, noted that the MoMo AI Protection app has developed various AI models at each touchpoint of the user journey to ensure the safety of their assets. Since 2022, recognizing that malicious behavior has become more sophisticated, MoMo has invested in protection measures directly on users' phones.

"Thanks to these efforts, MoMo has thwarted tens of thousands of hijacking attempts and hundreds of thousands of psychological manipulation fraud attempts," Hung said.

In the near future, every experience on MoMo will be highly personalized through AI, ensuring that all services, promotions, and relevant content are tailored to each user's unique needs, he added.