Moca e-wallet halts operations in Vietnam

Moca Technology and Service Corporation will cease offering its Moca e-wallet services in Vietnam from July 1, ending its 11-year presence in the Southeast Asian nation, the firm announced on Friday.

“After thorough evaluation, we have decided to pursue a restructuring strategy in order to achieve sustainable growth,” Moca said in a statement on its website.

Customers who have a balance in their Moca e-wallets can actively manage this balance by spending it on Grab services or withdrawing it to their linked bank account/card from now until the end of June 30, it said, adding that from July 1, Moca will proceed to refund users who still have a balance in their accounts.

“Moca commits that the discontinuation of the e-wallet service will be implemented with the highest guarantees for the rights and interests of users. We will highly appreciate your time checking this information and collaborating with us to ensure a smooth refund process,” stated the company.

To continue enjoying cashless payments when using the Grab services, users can consider switching to other available cashless payment methods on the Grab app, including ZaloPay, MoMo, or linked bank cards, it added.

Established in 2013, Moca has been present in the Vietnamese market as a third payment application, commonly used on the ride hailing app Grab, the leading ride-hailing, taxi, food delivery and grocery service provider in Southeast Asia. It is supported by a group of former senior employees of Microsoft, Google, and experts in the finance and banking industry in Vietnam.

The Moca e-wallet helps users pay online or safely and conveniently with ATM cards or Visa/Mastercard/JCB cards.

On February 25, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) licensed the Moca Technology and Service Corporation to operate payment intermediary services.

Moca's withdrawal is not surprising because this e-wallet seems to only be familiar with customers through the Grab application. Meanwhile, the e-wallet market share in Vietnam belongs to big names such as Momo, Zalopay, VNPay, and Viettel Pay.