How Digital Payments Are Revolutionizing Vietnam's Food Service

Digital Payment Adoption Accelerates Across Vietnam’s Food Services Sector

Digital payments are among the most influential developments that have been driving the fast-paced evolution of the Vietnam online food delivery market. As more consumers move from cash to e-wallets and QR-based options, food delivery platforms, restaurants, and fintech players are investing heavily in payment innovations aimed at seamless ordering. Both the global players such as GrabFood and regional operators like Baemin and ShopeeFood are pushing for seamless digital payment flows that boost conversion rates and improve customer retention. This drives the food delivery sector toward being more dynamic, data-rich, and customer-centric.

Growing Consumer Preference for Cashless Transactions

One of the greatest catalysts behind digital payments adoption is the changing habits of consumers. The urban population of Vietnam has become more digitally connected than ever, while being driven by rising smartphone penetration and broadband access.

Apps like MoMo, ZaloPay, and ShopeePay are seeing a steady rise in transaction volumes related to food purchases. On many food delivery platforms, more than half of the total orders in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are paid digitally, a remarkable change compared with just a few years ago. Contactless payment comfort, faster check-out, and rewards that incentivize repeated use also contribute to this particular trend.

Delivery Platforms Strengthen Their Payment Partnerships

Another motivator of digital payment growth is the enhanced partnership network between food delivery services and fintech firms. For example, GrabFood extended its relationship with MoMo to introduce value-added benefits including integrated rewards, immediate refunds, and quicker payment reconciliations for its partner restaurants. This collaboration has already assisted smaller restaurants in reducing delays in payment cycles and visualizing their sources of income more clearly.

Other than that, powered by Sea Group's deep fintech roots, ShopeeFood is promoting ShopeePay as its preferred payment choice, with cashbacks and exclusive vouchers for food orders. Meanwhile, Baemin will be teaming up with ZaloPay to support faster checkouts and build loyalty incentives targeted at younger customers.

These strategic partnerships are giving delivery platforms more predictable cash flows and creating stronger engagement loops. For restaurants, consistent digital payments reduce operational stress and make tracking revenues more accurate, especially during peak ordering hours.

Government Push for Cashless Transactions Enhances Adoption

Vietnam’s government has also played an important role in encouraging digital payments across the food service ecosystem. Under the National Digital Transformation Program, cashless transactions are being promoted across all consumer-facing industries. The State Bank of Vietnam revealed that non-cash payment transactions grew rapidly year-on-year in early 2025, reflecting strong momentum across different retail categories, including food delivery.

The government’s push for QR code standardization through the national VietQR system is further supporting streamlined payments. Many restaurants onboarded on delivery apps now accept VietQR payments, which helps reduce cost per transaction and increases transparency. Therefore, food delivery platforms are gradually shifting from old payment gateways to upgraded QR-based systems that allow faster authentication and settlement.

Regulatory support is helping both small and large restaurants feel more confident about digitizing their payment operations. For B2B stakeholders, this means lower compliance risks, more reliable payment audits, and simplified accounting processes.

Improved Operational Efficiency for Restaurants

Digital payments are not only enhancing the customer experience but also solving major operational issues within Vietnam's food service sector. Traditionally, cash-on-delivery (COD) had created challenges for the delivery riders and restaurants in the form of inaccurate cash handling, settlement delays, and reconciliation errors. In the process, digital payments have become more mainstream, with restaurants getting revenue credited faster and more securely.

Grab, Baemin, and ShopeeFood have upgraded the merchant dashboard, enabling restaurants to track in real-time when payments flow in. For instance, dashboards showing sales patterns, peak-hour revenue, and the timing of payments help operators improve their forecasting, inventory purchasing, and staffing decisions.

Rise of Loyalty Rewards and Integrated Payment Features

One of the most strategic developments driving digital payment usage is the expansion of loyalty-benefit ecosystems tied to e-wallets and delivery applications. Consumers are more inclined to bundled incentives such as cashback, voucher stacking, free delivery credits, and tier-based membership rewards.

Consumers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi can now order from tens of thousands of GoFood F&B merchants featured on MoMo. While other brands offer stacked cashback on top of existing promotions, attracting heavy-use customers. Some of them are also launching monthly subscription benefits, including free delivery vouchers, discount bundles, and quick-refund guarantees.

These loyalty-driven features not only increase digital payment adoption but are reshaping competitive strategies among food delivery apps. For restaurants, higher digital payment usage often leads to higher order frequency and ticket size, strengthening long-term demand predictability.

For insights on how payment digitalization is shaping Vietnam’s F&B ecosystem, refer to the Vietnam Online Food Delivery Market

Digital Payments Becoming the Core of Vietnam’s Food Delivery Growth

Digital payments are becoming a major pillar supporting Vietnam’s food service and delivery transformation. While the partnerships among the fintech companies and food delivery platforms deepen, the sector is moving toward quicker, more secure, and more transparent transactions.

It is clear to B2B audiences, from restaurant chains and franchise operators to fintech investors, that digital payments form a core operational layer supportive of growth, reduction of inefficiencies, and the molding of customer purchasing behavior. As the delivery ecosystem in Vietnam expands, digital payments will continue playing their central role in how brands scale, engage customers, and build long-term competitiveness in the country's fast-digitizing market.