BE GROUP and Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) have jointly launched beFinancial as an open technology ecosystem, and inked a strategic cooperation deal to provide digital financial solutions for individual customers, drivers and local enterprises.
BE GROUP, a technology startup, debuted on the local market in December 2018 with the launch of a ride-hailing platform. The group has reached out to more than four million mobile devices and 30,000 drivers, meeting around 200,000 ride orders from clients every day. Focusing on the development of solutions benefiting people from all walks of life, BE GROUP has sought to join hands with other companies to share its advanced technologies.
With an aim to develop an open technology ecosystem, the young technology firm has cooperated with VPBank to launch beFinancial, which is not only a normal financial app but also a playground for many local enterprises and startups. The platform will exploit strong advantages of BE GROUP and VPBank to provide suitable financial products for various customers and assist operations of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Relying on a sustainable technology foundation, BE GROUP offers flexible payment options following user habits and many promotion programmes. VPBank’s payment service will be integrated into Be app, enabling clients to pay fares, top up mobile phone accounts and pay at stores, without the need to use cash. Especially, BE GROUP and VPBank will launch co-branded credit and debit cards to facilitate services such as payment, overdraft, loan borrowing at low rates or consumer finance. Besides this, customers using the co-branded cards can accumulate points to exchange for gifts and discounts.
For drivers, BE GROUP and VPBank will provide them a payment and financial management system with better security and transparency. Further, Be drivers will be able to access preferential banking services of VPBank to meet the needs for bike and auto purchase.
At the signing ceremony, BE GROUP’s CEO Tran Thanh Hai said: “As a Vietnamese technology company, BE GROUP aspires to bring a coherent solution to simplify the complexities in everyday life and become a bridge between every customer and service provider. beFinacial included in BE GROUP commitments after the deployment of transport services, is a digital financial product. Therefore, the partnership with VPBankthe largest private bank in Vietnam in terms of payment and financial products, is expected to bring a quick, secure and optimal payment solution for individual consumers and corporate customers, as well as more benefits to the drivers so they can rest assured to concentrate on their work.”
“On the other hand, the partnership with VPBank in the financial sector is a proof to the opening and sharing of be’s ecosystem with all enterprises in different operations of the same value chain to bring the best products to customers and optimise their business operations. We believe that an open and symbiotic ecosystem to help each other will attract the participation of enterprises to bring sustainable values to both the enterprises and the economy.”
The combination between BE GROUP’s advanced technologies and VPBank’s payment system will create a fintech ecosystem that can optimise the trading process among many partners. Joining the beFinancial, enterprises can get credits, granted by VPBank, to pay for service providers in advance. The function will help more enterprises to exploit the technology and share the market. Its technologies will speed up transaction and help save costs thanks to the digitalisation of all steps such as transaction, confirmation and invoice making.
Jean Pierre Gagnon, director of beFinancial, said that the platform will feature a payment management system that helps cut up to 90 percent of paperwork fees. Enterprises can experience benefits of automation without the need to change their current business environment. BE GROUP has chosen small- and medium-sized enterprises as its partners as they account for 40 percent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) and generate jobs for 60 percent of labourers. The open ecosystem will contribute to the economy by sharing, not by establishing a monopolistic position.
Nguyen Duc Vinh, general director of VPBank, said: “The cooperation with BE GROUP is the result of a process of developing digital banking services and solutions and an orientation of building valuable ecosystems for customers. beFinancial is a comprehensive financial solution for various partners in the transport sector. We hope that the advanced solutions will bring about high benefits for the business community and individual clients.”
Since the launch of the ride-hailing service in December 2018, BE GROUP has served around 11 million beBike and beCar rides, amid the tough competition of foreign ride-hailing firms. So far, its service has been deployed in six provinces and cities including Hanoi, HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Vung Tau and Can Tho. As planned, the group will expand its service in Danang City in the future. It targets to attract 100,000 drivers at the end of 2019, thereby creating jobs for people, contributing to local State budgets and offering better services for customers.
