Appropriate transaction limits for e-wallets urged

Under a draft circular about intermediary payment services which the State Bank of Vietnam recently made public, e-wallet daily transaction limits were set at 20 million dongs(US$850,Bt26,783)for individuals and 100 million dongs for organisations. 
The monthly transaction limits were set at 100 million and 500 million dongs, respectively.
 Pham Tien Dung, director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department, said at a conference late last week that setting daily and monthly transaction limits for e-wallets aimed to prevent them being used for illegal purposes like tax evasion or money laundering.
 Dung pointed out that transaction value via e-wallets in Vietnam is currently modest, averaging about 200,000 dongs per transaction.
 Can Van Luc, a senior economist of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, said setting inappropriate monthly transaction limits would hinder the development of e-payment, adding that the limit for individuals should be increased to 150 million-200 million dongs.
 “More consideration should be given on the transaction limits for e-wallets,” Luc said.
 He said limits should be set based on income per capita and consumption demand.
 E-payment has significant potential in Vietnam, given the country’s young population, high rate of smartphone users (55 per cent) and rapidly growing e-commerce segment, Luc said.
 Nguyen Ba Diep, CEO of e-wallet company Momo, said transaction limits should be set at higher levels to prepare for the anticipated rapid development of e-payment.
 Diep said monthly limits for individuals should be increased to 200 million dongs while no limits should be set for organisations.