Vietnam Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - Q1 2026 Update

Accelerated Expansion of “Domestic and International” card credentials

• Vietnam has moved to expand acceptance by combining domestic switching reach with international network acceptance, as evidenced by the launch of the country’s first NAPAS-Mastercard co-branded card (with Agribank, BIDV, TPBank, Nam A Bank, PVcomBank, and Vikki Bank participating).
• Issuers and schemes are reducing friction for consumers who need a single credential that works both locally and abroad, while retaining domestic routing advantages where relevant. This improves the “value proposition” for prepaid-like/controlled-value credentials when acceptance breadth is a constraint.
• Expect more co-badged / interoperable propositions and tighter competition among banks and schemes on who can make a single credential usable across domestic POS and international ecommerce/travel. This trend should intensify as acceptance becomes a primary lever for activity and retention.

Extend QR-led payment interoperability for travel and cross-border spend

• Wallet ecosystems are pushing QR features outward (and inbound), with Zalopay expanding “international QR scan” and indicating plans for a feature enabling international visitors in Vietnam to pay via QR using Visa and Mastercard cards (timed for rollout by end-2025 in reporting).
• Visa also launched Visa Pay with VNPT Money (Dec 2025), positioning wallet-balance payments via QR when Vietnamese users travel abroad, another signal that stored value will be pushed into broader acceptance contexts.
• Travel recovery and cross-border ecommerce are pushing demand for payment methods that work without new merchant integration. QR codes are used as the distribution layer; card or wallet balances serve as the funding source.
• Expect more wallet-to-QR cross-border propositions and competitive pressure on prepaid programs that rely on narrow acceptance. This should intensify, particularly around tourist corridors and outbound travel segments.

Tighten identity and operating requirements, reshaping how prepaid-like value is activated and used

• SBV Circular 41/2025/TT-NHNN (Nov 2025) tightens rules for intermediary payment services/e-wallets, including more explicit customer verification requirements (reported to include in-person checks and biometric matching pathways depending on the identity method).
• Regulators are raising the baseline for traceability and fraud controls as digital payments scale, increasing the compliance cost of low-friction onboarding models.
• This trend should intensify. Prepaid and prepaid-adjacent propositions will increasingly need tiered onboarding and clearer funding/usage controls; weak-KYC distribution becomes harder to sustain.

Expand telco-led Mobile Money limits, increasing competition for low-value “stored value” use cases

• Vietnam raised the Mobile Money monthly transaction cap to VND 100 million under Decree 368/2025/ND-CP (reported Jan 2026), materially increasing the addressable spend that can flow through telco-linked accounts.
• Policy focuses on widening digital payment access, particularly for segments where bank-first distribution is weaker, while formalising provider obligations.
• Mobile Money becomes a more direct competitor to basic prepaid use cases (small-ticket retail, P2P-linked payments). This should intensify and will push prepaid programs to differentiate on acceptance breadth (domestic and international) and program controls.

Competitive Landscape of the Vietnam Prepaid Card Market

• Vietnam’s prepaid market is shaped by the interaction among domestic rails (NAPAS), banks, wallet ecosystems, and international schemes, with the most visible competitive moves occurring through interoperability launches and compliance-driven operational changes. Over the last 12 months, the standout “competition driver” is the market’s shift toward credentials that can operate across multiple acceptance surfaces (domestic, international, QR, and card).
• Regulatory changes have also become a competitive variable: tighter SBV rules for e-wallets/intermediary services change onboarding economics and push the sector toward fewer, more controlled models.

Current Market Dynamics

• Competitive intensity is shifting toward infrastructure-led differentiation, not just customer acquisition, e.g., co-branding (NAPAS and Mastercard) to combine domestic and international reach in a single product construct.
• Simultaneously, stored-value competition is widening as Mobile Money’s ceiling rises, making telco-linked accounts more relevant for everyday transaction volume.

Key Players and Market Positioning

• NAPAS and bank issuers are central to the prepaid acceptance story. The NAPAS-Mastercard co-badged launch involved Agribank, BIDV, TPBank, Nam A Bank, PVcomBank, and Vikki Bank, indicating multi-bank alignment behind an interoperable credential direction.
• International schemes and wallet ecosystems are competing by turning wallet balances into travel/cross-border utility, e.g., Visa Pay with VNPT Money and Zalopay’s international QR initiatives that aim to broaden QR usability and card-to-QR experiences for inbound visitors.

Recent Launches and Partnerships (last 12 months)

• NAPAS, Mastercard, and six banks launching Vietnam’s first co-branded card is the clearest prepaid-relevant partnership move in the period, signalling an industry push toward combined domestic/international capability.
• Visa and VNPT Money's launch of Visa Pay (Dec 2025) is another relevant partnership, demonstrating how scheme/wallet alignment is being used to expand QR-based payments for Vietnamese consumers when abroad.
• I did not identify a prepaid-specific Vietnam M&A event in the last 12 months from non-market-research public sources in this scan; the competitive change appears to be led more by partnerships and regulatory resets than consolidation announcements.

Anticipated Market Evolution (Next 2-4 Years)

• Expect competition to focus on compliance-ready scale: Circular 41/2025 tightens wallet/e-wallet verification expectations, which will advantage providers that can operationalise identity checks without causing drop-offs at onboarding.
• Expect increased competition for transaction volume as Mobile Money limits expand and QR ecosystems push cross-border features. Prepaid programs should evolve toward controlled-spend and acceptance-led positioning, rather than generic “stored value.”

Regulatory Changes

• SBV Circular 41/2025/TT-NHNN (Nov 2025) tightened the management requirements for e-wallet/intermediary payment services, including more explicit verification expectations that involve in-person/biometric matching pathways depending on the identity method used.
• Decree 368/2025/ND-CP (reported Jan 2026) increased Mobile Money limits to VND 100 million monthly, raising the ceiling for telco-led stored-value usage and altering competitive boundaries for low-value payment flows.

Overview of Prepaid Cards and Digital Wallet Market

Prepaid Card Market Analysis

• Metrics Assessed: The study examines the prepaid card market through various lenses, including transaction value, transaction volume, average transaction value, load value, and the total number of cards in circulation.
• Card Types: A distinction is made between open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards, providing insights into their respective market shares and growth trajectories.
• Usage Categories: The report segments the prepaid card market into various categories such as general-purpose cards, business and administrative expense cards, travel forex cards, and meal cards.
• Business Segmentation: Further segmentation is provided based on business size and type, including small-scale businesses, mid-tier businesses, enterprise-level businesses, government entities, and retail consumers.
• Sector-Specific Applications: The analysis extends to specific sectors utilizing prepaid cards, including transit and toll payments, healthcare and wellness services, social security and other government benefit programs, fuel purchases, utilities, and more.

Digital Wallet Market Insights

• Key Segments: The digital wallet market is dissected across five primary spending categories: retail shopping, travel, entertainment and gaming, dining establishments, and recharge and bill payments.
• Performance Metrics: For each segment, the report evaluates transaction value, transaction volume, and average transaction value, offering a granular view of consumer spending behaviors.
• Retail Spend Breakdown: An in-depth analysis is provided for retail spending via digital wallets, covering categories such as food and grocery, health and beauty products, apparel and footwear, books, music and video, consumer electronics, pharmacy and wellness, gas stations, restaurants and bars, toys, kids and baby products, services, and other miscellaneous categories.

Virtual Prepaid Card Market Segmentation

• Categories Analyzed: The virtual prepaid card market is segmented into key categories, including general-purpose cards, gift cards, entertainment and gaming cards, teen and campus cards, business and administrative expense cards, payroll cards, meal cards, travel forex cards, transit and toll cards, social security and other government benefit program cards, fuel cards, utilities, and other miscellaneous categories.
• Performance Evaluation: For each category, the report assesses transaction value, providing insights into the adoption and usage patterns of virtual prepaid cards across different consumer segments.

Consumer Usage Trends

The report delves into consumer behavior concerning prepaid cards, segmented by:

• Age Groups: Identifying usage patterns across different age demographics.
• Income Levels: Analyzing how income brackets influence prepaid card adoption and usage.
• Gender: Examining differences in usage trends between genders.

Report Scope

Vietnam Prepaid Payment Instrument Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card vs. Digital Wallet

Vietnam Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Segments

Vietnam Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast by Key Segments

• Retail Shopping (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Travel (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Restaurant (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Entertainment and Gaming (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Recharge and Bill Payment (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)

Vietnam Digital Wallet Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Vietnam Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Load Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards
• Market Share Analysis by Functional Attributes - Open Loop vs. Closed Loop
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card Categories

Vietnam Open Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Vietnam Closed Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Vietnam Prepaid Card Consumer Usage Trends

• By Age Group
• By Income Group
• By Gender

Vietnam Prepaid Card Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Vietnam General Purpose Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Gift Card Market Size and Forecast

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Gift Card
• By Closed Loop Gift Card

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail Consumer Segment
• By Corporate Consumer Segment

Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Retail Categories

• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Gifting Occasion
• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Purchase Location

Vietnam Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card
• By Closed Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card

Vietnam Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Vietnam Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Vietnam Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Vietnam Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail
• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Vietnam Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Fuel Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Vietnam Virtual Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Virtual Prepaid Card Categories

Vietnam Virtual Prepaid Card Market Size by Key Categories

• General Purpose Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Gift Card - Transaction Value
• Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Teen and Campus Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Payroll Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Meal Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Travel Forex Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Fuel Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value
• Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value

Reasons to Buy

• In-depth understanding of Vietnam’s prepaid card and digital wallet market dynamics: Gain a structured view of market opportunity, operating models, and competitive dynamics across 80+ segments and sub-segments, spanning prepaid cards (open-loop and closed-loop), digital wallets, wallet-linked prepaid credentials, and virtual prepaid cards. Analysis focuses on how stored value is issued, funded, used, and regulated in Vietnam’s payments ecosystem.
• Understand Vietnam’s market opportunities and key trends with forward-looking forecasts (2021-2030): Assess historical performance and future outlook for prepaid cards and digital wallets using core KPIs such as transaction value, transaction volume, active users, and average transaction value, with clear separation between consumer and commercial use cases and wallet-based versus card-based spend.
• Develop Vietnam specific prepaid and digital wallet strategies: Identify high-growth segments and structurally resilient use cases to support market-entry, expansion, or optimisation strategies. Evaluate Vietnam-specific drivers, constraints, and risks, including regulation, macroeconomic conditions, and adoption patterns, to inform realistic, market-aligned strategic decisions.
• Detailed analysis of Vietnam’s market share by key players across prepaid and wallet categories: Understand competitive positioning through issuer and platform-level market share analysis across major prepaid card types, digital wallets, and virtual prepaid instruments. Coverage highlights how banks, fintechs, and wallet providers compete across funding sources, acceptance reach, and use case depth.
• Insights into Vietnam’s consumer attitudes and payment behaviour: Analyse how consumers use prepaid cards, virtual prepaid cards, and digital wallets for everyday spend, e-commerce, subscriptions, and controlled payments. Understand behavioural shifts, frequency of use, and value per transaction to support ROI optimisation, product design, and targeted go-to-market strategies.