Vietnam Ministry of Construction reviews electronic wallet fees for traffic accounts

The Ministry of Construction has reported to the government regarding the investigation into fees charged by VETC and Viettel Money for linking electronic wallets to electronic toll collection (ETC) accounts. The investigation follows announcements that these providers intended to charge individuals 6,600 VND per month and organizations 66,000 VND per month for using linked electronic wallets.

The Ministry clarified that these charges are considered payment instrument usage fees governed by banking laws, rather than road usage fees or traffic account maintenance fees. While the companies had initially announced these fees, they were temporarily suspended following public feedback.

Authorities emphasized that users maintain the right to choose their preferred payment method. For instance, the VETC system supports five different payment methods, including various bank credit cards and digital wallets, while the VDTC system supports 11 methods, including MoMo and Viettel Money. The Ministry noted that the service providers' explanations regarding the nature of these fees and user options were not sufficiently clear.