Which payment gateway to integrate for the Vietnamese market

Buyers in Vietnam have payment habits that differ significantly from those in Western markets. International credit cards are not the first choice for most domestic customers. If your website only supports international cards, a large number of customers will leave at the payment step, not because they do not want to buy, but because there is no suitable payment method.

Which method Vietnamese people actually use.

According to market research on payment in Vietnam, four methods dominate domestic e-commerce transactions: e-wallets (MoMo, ZaloPay), QR code transfers (VietQR), VNPay aggregation gateways, and cash on delivery (COD). International cards have a presence but are not the main focus.

This means, in practical terms: if you overlook any of these methods, you are limiting the pool of customers who can make purchases directly on the website.

Factors to consider before integrating

• What payment methods do your customers prefer? Retail customers prefer e-wallets and cash on delivery, while business customers typically transfer funds and require invoices.
• Transaction and reconciliation fees: Each gateway has a different fee structure. It's important to understand the fees before signing a contract to calculate the selling price.
• Is there built-in web support: VNPay has plugins for WooCommerce and Shopify, significantly reducing integration time and costs.
• Order tracking and shipping reconciliation flow: integrating shipping is not just about delivery, but the entire flow from order creation, label printing, to status updates for customers.

When to choose which direction

Common errors when integrating

• Only attach international card ports: missing out on a large number of regular customers who use e-wallets and pay on delivery.
• Piling on too many gateways: The more options there are at checkout, the more confused customers become and the more likely they are to abandon their carts. Choose just enough, not the maximum.
• Forget the shipping reconciliation flow: Integrating delivery without a reconciliation process leads to confusion in after-sales, especially when order volumes increase.
• Let customers guess the order status: Lack of automatic update notifications increases unnecessary customer service inquiries.

The payment method is not a technical detail. It is part of the shopping experience. If customers cannot find a familiar way to pay, they will not make a purchase, even if they want to.

Practical experience of Sinh Vũ

The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ

Sinh Vũ integrates payment gateways and connects shipping providers into the sales website, prioritizing domestic methods. The payment flow is designed to be streamlined: customers select familiar methods, confirm quickly, and avoid excessive page transitions.

There is a clear boundary that Sinh Vũ maintains: Sinh Vũ builds the technical flow and connects the gateways, while the service contracts with payment gateway providers and shipping units are under your name and operated directly by you. This is not a limitation on Sinh Vũ's part, but to ensure you maintain control and commercial relationships with the relevant parties.

For shipping, popular domestic units generally have APIs (application programming interfaces) or plugins integrated into the main web platform. More important than choosing which unit to work with is designing the correct flow: creating orders, printing labels, updating statuses, and reconciling at the end of the day. If this flow is not thought out from the beginning, it will become a time-consuming manual task as orders start to increase.