Vientiane (VNA) – A ceremony has been held inVientiane to mark two years of operation of U-Money e-wallet provided byUnitel, a joint venture between Viettel of Vietnam and aLao company.
Addressing the event, Governor of the Bank of Laos SonexaySitphaxay underlined that the digitaleconomy is a tool for the management of the new payment methods with efficiency,transparency and safety.
He said that as anaffiliated companyof Unitel, Star Fintech is one of the first joint ventures betweenVietnamese and Lao enterprises to provide e-payment services, creating abreakthrough in the field and a favourable condition for Lao people in shoppingand payment.
Amid the COVID-19pandemic, e-payment has been carried out effectively in paying salary forofficials and public servants in many localities, he said, expressing his hopethat in the future, the method will be further expanded to serve people andbusinesses.
After two years ofoperation, U-Money e-wallet by Star Telecom under the trademark of Unitel hasset up more than 10,000 service posts across 148 areas of Laos with nearly500,000 customers.
Currently, Unitelhas signed agreements on salary payment for public employees at local levels in 50percent of the districts in Laos via U-Money.
The firm expectsthat in 2025, 80 percent of mobile service subscribers in Laos use U-Money. Ineach village, one or three transaction posts are expected to be set up.
Since 2014, Star Telecomhas been chosen by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to pilot thefinancial service supply under the supervision of the Laos’ central bank. InAugust 2019, Unitel received first official licence on Mobile Money supply inthe country./.
VNA