Alibaba-owned online marketplace Lazada is mulling the launch of a digital or e-wallet for quicker payments in Vietnam next month, making the country its fifth Southeast Asian market to adopt the cashless payment method.

The e-commerce firm’s chief operating officer Kaya Qin hinted at the plan while he talked Lazada’s development strategy in the upcoming time during a media meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.

While the Lazada officer only revealed little about how the e-wallet will operate, he said the service will be independent to Alipay, a third-party mobile and online payment platform developed by its parent company Alibaba.

Qin said Lazada is currently testing the e-wallet on a small scale, and may look for a partner to run the digital wallet in the future.

The e-wallet will be activated in Vietnam on November 11, which is Lazada’s annual biggest sales event, according to Qin.

Lazada expects the e-wallet to help increase the number of orders with cashless payments, aiming to strengthen payment security and simplify the delivery process.

Delivery staff will not have to bring cash along, while customers will not need to prepare the exact amount of money for their orders.

Currently operating in six Southeast Asian countries, Lazada introduced its own e-wallet for the first time in 2018 and has since made it available in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

In these markets, the e-wallet can be topped up through several methods, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and even by cash at 7-Eleven stores.

Especially in Malaysia, Lazada’s e-wallet lets customers simply make one click at the check-out stage of their shopping to complete the purchase, dismissing other banking logins and verifications.

However, the wallet does not allow payment to any other services outside the Lazada platform and let customers withdraw money only for refunds and not from actual top-up balance.

Vietnam and Indonesia are the other two regional markets of the e-commerce giants.

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