M-Service, the company responsible for operating Vietnam’s most popular e-wallet service MoMo, has secured at least $100 million in a Series D funding round. This is the most recent new capital infusion for the company since it closed its Series C in 2019. The undisclosed amount raised is reportedly larger than the amount from the undisclosed previous round according to MoMo Co-Founder Nguyen Ba Diep.
The terms of the investment deal were not revealed, but it was co-led by Goodwater Capital, a noted Silicon Valley investor, and existing investor Warburg Pincus. Other participants in the investment round were Affirma Capital, Kora Management, Tybourne Capital Management, and Macquarie Capital.
Warburg Pincus remains the largest shareholder in MoMo, according to a statement released by Jeffrey Perlman, Warburg’s Southeast Asia Head. Based on the details in MoMo’s corporate filing, 66.4 percent of the company is foreign-owned. This majority foreign ownership consists of one individual and six institutional investors.
M-Service Co-Founder and Vice-Chairman Nguyen Manh Tuong said that the new investment will be used to fund MoMo’s Super App platform and upgrade its ecosystem to improve and add the spectrum of services being offered. MoMo intends to venture beyond the digital payment system business.
At present, MoMo’s e-wallet service has more than 23 million users. The company aims to expand this to 50 million with the help of the new investment. In an interview with DealStreet Asia, the company’s Vice-Chairman said that expanding MoMo’s customer base will generate enough customer insights to allow the company to provide a new range of services, including a credit score system, aimed at financial institutions. MoMo has already forged partnerships with 28 local and international banks that operate in Vietnam.
“We are deeply honored by the support from leading global investors in this capital mobilization. The investment not only demonstrates the investors’ recognition of our achievements but also their belief in our vision – to provide all citizens in Vietnam with access to the best and affordable mobile payment services,” MoMo’s Vice-Chairman said in an event to announce the results of MoMo’s Series D funding round.
Aside from pursuing its Super App goal, MoMo also seeks to engage in startup financing. With the new investment, the company plans to launch Innovation Venture, an investment arm that focuses on local startups that can be integrated into MoMo’s ecosystem.
MoMo has emerged from 2020 notably successful. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the company recorded double-digit growth. Its total transaction value rose to approximately $14 billion, which is around 3.5 times higher compared to the previous year’s performance. Additionally, the company has already opened over 120,000 payment points and partnered with more than 30,000 establishments.
Goodwater Capital Co-Founder and Managing Partner Eric Kim said that now is the “golden time” to invest in Vietnam because of the growing demand for e-payment. “Goodwater is excited to partner up with MoMo and favors its continued leadership in the local e-wallet market,” Kim said.
MoMo appears to be flourishing in Vietnam’s mobile-first domestic market, where more than 57 percent of sales transactions are made through mobile devices according to JP Morgan in its 2020 E-Commerce Trends Report. MoMo is set for even better results in the years ahead as JP Morgan projects that the digital wallet market will rise from 15 percent in 2019 to 22 percent in 2023.
“Digital wallets are rising in uptake, primarily among affluent, urban populations. In Vietnam, digital wallet use is 42 percent among the banked and 17 percent among the unbanked. MoMo, Moca, and ZaloPay are the three most popular digital wallets in Vietnam’s two main cities, collectively taking 90 percent of online payments,” JP Morgan’s report writes.