Vietnam’s fintech company Momo, which is into mobile wallet and payment app development, has received $28 million first round investment from Standard Chartered Bank and Goldman Sachs. Standard Chartered Private Equity put in $25 million to lead the round, while Goldman, which invested $5.7 million back in 2013, added a further $3 million. Momo offers two services in Vietnam: a mobile wallet and payment app, launched in tandem with Standard Chartered Bank, and a branch-less banking service for those without a traditional bank account. The company claims to have 2.5 million customers, one million of whom use the e-wallet. Momo is looking to take advantage of the popularity of branchless banking in the country and use mobile in particular, as the vehicle for payments and banking in the country, where credit card adoption is low and banking services do not often cover remote areas. Momo currently works with more than 100 service providers on the payment app side of its business. The banking service, which started first, is designed to provide a bridge for consumers without a bank account and perhaps even a smartphone. It has a network of over 4,000 independent agents, through whom customers can load cash into their account, withdraw it when they want, make bill payments, and other activities that you’d do with a regular bank account.
