HÀ NỘI — MPOS Việt Nam Technology Joint Stock Company and Malaysia’s payment service provider GHL Systems Berhad on Tuesday signed a strategic co-operation agreement on electronic payments.

The agreement will open up opportunities for vigorous development of electronic payments in Việt Nam and Southeast Asia for MPOS. It also marked GHL’s first step to enter the Vietnamese market.

Nguyễn Hữu Tuất, general director of MPOS Việt Nam, said as the only mobile payment service provider in Việt Nam, he strongly believed in the potential of this strategic partnership. Through GHL, MPOS will expand its business activities in all other markets in the region, exporting payment technology developed by the Vietnamese people, aiming to become the "Square” of Southeast Asia.

Shimon Loh, GHL Systems Berhad’s vice chairman, said GHL believed Việt Nam has key factors for the explosive growth of electronic payments.

The strengths of both companies will enhance MPOS’s position in the field of electronic payment in Việt Nam and ASEAN, Loh added.

This strategic partnership is complemented by ACTIS, a US$13 billion investment fund in Fintech and also the largest shareholder in GHL.

Việt Nam’s electronic payment market is growing significantly with more than 112 million cards issued by 40 financial institutions, however, there are only some 300,000 devices accepting payment. Therefore, the next strategy of MPOS and GHL is strongly promoting the development of mobile and Internet based payment methods, including QR-Code and NFC.

The co-operation between MPOS and GHL will open a new direction in the development strategy of the two sides, bringing more benefits to card accepting units and customers, promoting the market’s development for electronic payment not only in Việt Nam, but throughout Southeast Asia.

Established in 2014, MPOS is currently the first and the only Vietnamese firm that is able to replace the traditional heavy-duty card acceptors with compact card readers connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth.

MPOS is co-operating with 3,000 business units at more than 7,000 points accepting payment cards, helping to increase sales and profits through the solution "interest-free installment payments."

GHL Systems Berhad is a leading payment service provider in ASEAN, operating in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia markets. GHL provides leading payment services and payment solutions including physical, Internet and phone payment solutions.

GHL manages more than 160,000 merchants in ASEAN accepting credit card and debit card payments, prepaid payments, electronic wallets, mobile top-ups as and fee-collecting services. — VNS