MDP Wins SBV Payment Switching Licence, Techcombank Holds 11% Stake

Overview

MobiFone Digital Payment (MDP) has become the second company in Vietnam licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to operate core interbank payment switching infrastructure, breaking a monopoly held by National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (Napas) for more than a decade. Techcombank (TCB), listed on HOSE, holds an 11% stake in the joint venture, which has also passed SBV technical inspections confirming it is qualified to operate at large scale.

Key Facts

• MDP was established on 27 June 2025 with charter capital of VND 300 billion.
• Shareholding: MobiFone 51%, One Mount Group 38%, Techcombank 11%.
• The SBV issued licence No. 89/GP-NHNN to MDP on 27 November 2025, covering financial switching (including international), electronic clearing, electronic payment gateways and collection/payment support services.
• MDP held its official launch in Hà Nội on 27 March 2026, four months after licensing.
• At launch, MDP reported research connections with Napas and Visa, integration with the Ministry of Public Security’s VNeID national e-identification system, and links to more than 22 banks and financial institutions including Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, Agribank, Techcombank, MB and VPBank.
• MDP and Napas signed an MOU to study interconnection models between the two switching systems, covering technical architecture, operations, security and domestic and cross-border QR payments.
• In May 2026, MDP announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard to upgrade real-time payment infrastructure.

What Happened

MDP is a three-party joint venture spanning telecoms, financial technology and banking, a structure the article describes as rare in Vietnam. MobiFone, the state-linked telecommunications operator, is the controlling shareholder with 51%. One Mount Group, a technology ecosystem associated with Techcombank and Masterise Group, holds 38%, while Techcombank itself owns the remaining 11%. The company is led by General Director and legal representative Phan Thanh Sơn, who has more than 20 years of banking experience including roles at Techcombank and Citibank. The board is chaired by Bùi Sơn Nam, a 28-year MobiFone veteran.

The decisive development was the SBV’s licence No. 89/GP-NHNN, granted on 27 November 2025, which authorises MDP to operate at the core infrastructure layer of the interbank payment system rather than as an ordinary payment intermediary such as an e-wallet or payment gateway. The article states that MDP’s technology systems subsequently passed SBV inspection rounds in the first half of 2026, confirming technical eligibility for large-scale operation. The launch event in Hà Nội on 27 March 2026 was attended by representatives of the SBV, the Ministry of Public Security and financial institutions.

Market Context

Techcombank (TCB) trades on HOSE and closed at VND 32,650 on 17 September 2026. The bank sits at the intersection of two themes in the Vietnamese market: bank-led digital payments and the broader push to diversify critical financial infrastructure away from a single operator. MDP’s emergence as a second licensed switch follows years in which Napas effectively controlled the interbank core, and it arrives as Vietnamese banks invest heavily in real-time payments, QR interoperability and cross-border settlement. For TCB, the stake is small in capital terms but positions the bank inside a licensed infrastructure provider rather than purely as a customer of one.

Strategic Significance

The strategic angle for TCB is optionality rather than near-term earnings. An 11% holding in a licensed switching utility gives Techcombank visibility into payment flows, standards development and interconnection negotiations that most banks only encounter as participants. The MOU between MDP and Napas on interconnection, plus the Mastercard partnership on real-time infrastructure, suggests the intended model is interoperability rather than outright displacement of Napas. If MDP scales, the venture could become a strategic asset for One Mount Group’s ecosystem and for Techcombank’s digital banking franchise, while reducing systemic concentration risk in a layer the SBV has historically supervised closely. The licence also signals regulatory willingness to admit private, bank-linked capital into core payment infrastructure.

What to Watch

• Disclosure of MDP’s transaction volumes and bank onboarding numbers, which would indicate whether the second switch is gaining real share.
• Progress and any binding agreement from the MDP-Napas interconnection MOU, including domestic and cross-border QR specifications.
• SBV rulemaking or circulars on interbank switching standards that could affect MDP’s operating scope.
• Techcombank’s financial statements for any disclosure on the carrying value or performance of its 11% stake.
• Further MDP partnerships, following the May 2026 Mastercard agreement, and any expansion into cross-border settlement.