Go-Viet, a subsidiary of Go-Jek, is accelerating recruitment for leadership positions to handle its upcoming launch of Go-Pay in Vietnam, which is critical for its progress in the country as competitors have already rolled out e-payment services.
Go-Viet’s country director Christy Le posted multiple job ads which she shared via her Facebook account, including senior positions such as head of legal and head of business development for Go-Pay.
Launched in Vietnam last September, Go-Viet is currently the only ride-hailing provider in the country that has not been able to offer non-cash payment methods for its services.
Grab has a tie-up with local e-wallet provider Moca, and other smaller competitors have their own ties to these services. For example, FastGo, which is part of NextTech Group, benefits from the merger of mPOS and VIMO which resulted in NextPay. MyGo has ViettelPay and Be has partnered with VPBank.
E-wallet providers in Vietnam must navigate a tricky regulatory environment due to the State Bank of Vietnam’s recently tightened stance towards these services. It did this to better control the market which has become crowded with 30 providers of intermediary payment services. One option for Go-Viet is to follow Grab’s move by partnering with a local licensed provider.
In its home country Indonesia, Go-Jek obtained an e-wallet license by acquiring a smaller company which already got licensed before rules had become tighter.
Go-Viet’s ambition to expand has also had to deal with some leadership issues. Former CEO Nguyen Vu Duc and Deputy General Director Nguyen Bao Linh both resigned from the firm in April 2019. Go-Viet later stated that both were still working for Go-Viet and Go-Jek in advisory roles. Christy Le, the former CEO of Facebook Vietnam, then took the leadership role.
KrASIA has reached out to Go-Jek for a comment about its e-wallet strategy in Vietnam and is waiting to hear back.