Thursday, November 30, 2017

Uber signs first Southeast Asian e-wallet deal with Vietnam's MoMo

HANOI (Reuters) - U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] on Wednesday signed a strategic deal with Vietnamese financial technology firm MoMo to let passengers pay for rides using MoMo’s e-wallet, the pair said in a statement on Wednesday.

A Uber driver takes a client on a motorcycle in Hanoi, Vietnam November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

The deal is Uber’s first e-wallet partnership in Southeast Asia, home to 600 million people, and could help the firm catch up with main regional rival Grab which has its own e-wallet service.

“Vietnam is one of Uber’s fastest-growing Asian markets... MoMo’s five million app users already pay for utility bills, airline tickets and other services with the wallet,” Uber and MoMo said in a joint statement.

Last year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and a private-equity arm of Standard Chartered PLC (STAN.L) invested a combined $28 million in “fintech” firm MoMo, offering a means of tapping into Vietnam’s young, tech-savvy population.

“The partnership with Uber will open a seamless and cashless transport experience for the many Vietnamese without credit cards,” MoMo Chief Operating Officer Nguyen Manh Tuong said in the statement.

Reporting by Mai NguyenEditing by Christopher Cushing

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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