This is a very emotional article, well written, and highly enjoyable to read, but I would like to point out a small issue.
“It is hard to imagine a place where WeChat and Alipay are almost unusable, yet cryptocurrency payments are accepted everywhere.”
I can understand the author's intention; indeed, WeChat, Alipay, and even credit cards, APPLE PAY, or GOOGLE PAY are difficult to use in small shops in Vietnam. Not to mention Vietnam, even in places like Hong Kong and Singapore, they are not very usable.
But the solution for this payment issue is not cryptocurrency, and even less so cryptocurrency payments. It could even be said that it has hardly anything to do with cryptocurrency at all; if one wishes, one could also pay with RMB, USD, EUR, JPY, KRW, or SGD.
Why?
Because the channel being used is VietQR, which itself does not handle cryptocurrency but processes VND transfers within the Vietnamese banking system. In fact, the most crucial aspect here is not just the VietQR QR code but rather the intermediary payment service providers like AEON that facilitate the conversion from USDT to VND (Vietnamese Dong).
A very simple example is the U Card; the underlying logic of the payment process when scanning a code is the same as using the U Card for payment.
If you take a U Card to a convenience store to swipe, it looks like you are using USDT to buy something, but the convenience store does not receive USDT. Your USDT will first be converted into legal currency by the payment service provider at the current exchange rate, and then settled through the Visa or Mastercard payment network, with the merchant ultimately receiving local legal currency.
VietQR works the same way.
So when I mentioned converting USDT to USD, RMB, SGD, or even Q coins, or any meme coins, technically, similar things can be done. As long as there is a service provider willing to help convert your assets into VND in real-time and able to access VietQR to complete the final bank transfer, you can still make payments via scanning.
Therefore, what has truly become widespread in Vietnam is the VietQR payment network, not the cryptocurrency payment network. Because VietQR does not care what kind of asset is being used upfront. VietQR only sees a VND transfer. For the coffee shop owner, whether you pay with USDT, USD, or something else does not matter; they still receive Vietnamese Dong.
The company in Crypto (the intermediary should be AEON) leverages the vast number of bank accounts and merchants already covered by VietQR, adding a layer of conversion and settlement from Crypto to VND.
Thus, what is strong in Vietnam is not the payment of cryptocurrency but the existence of a network like VietQR, similar to WeChat and Alipay, along with Vietnam's relatively open attitude towards cryptocurrency.
PS: Even the intermediary, AEON, does not have the SBV Payment Intermediary License in Vietnam; the intermediary of the intermediary could be AliX Pay, Aliniex, or Terminus.
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