Road administration calls for review of e-wallet fees linked to traffic accounts

On August 20, the Vietnamese Department for Roads (DRVN) announced it would review the fees associated with e-wallets linked to traffic accounts and requested service providers to reevaluate their fee structures. The DRVN acknowledged concerns raised on social media and in the media about fees charged by Vietnam Electronic Toll Collection Joint Stock Company (VETC) and Viettel Money for e-wallets connected to traffic accounts.

These fees are VND6,600 (US$0.25) per month for individual users and VND66,000 (US$2.52) per month for businesses, with no charge in months without transactions. The DRVN emphasized that these are payment instrument fees, not road-use or traffic account fees. Vietnamese laws, including Decree No. 119/2024, Decree No. 52/2024, State Bank of Vietnam Circular No. 40/2024, and the 2023 Law on Prices, do not mandate a specific notice period for fee changes, but any adjustments must be transparent and in line with provider-customer agreements.

Payment providers have varied fee policies, such as MoMo's 1% transaction fee with a minimum VND1,000, international card fees of 1.902%, and BIDV, MB, and VietinBank's fees of VND1,000 to VND3,000 per transaction. Not all providers charge fees, including VETC, Viettel Money, and Vietcombank. The DRVN, as the state entity overseeing electronic road-traffic payments, collaborated with VETC and Vietnam Digital Traffic Joint Stock Company (VDTC) to temporarily halt fee implementation while reviewing policies.

The department also urged companies to consider fee structures tailored to customer needs and encouraged expanding cashless payment methods and offering additional services for customer benefit. The DRVN plans to advise the State Bank of Vietnam to intensify inspections and supervisions to ensure convenient e-wallet services while balancing all parties' interests.