From August 1st, individual customers using VETC and ePass e-wallets must pay a fee of 6,600 VND/month, equivalent to 79,200 VND/year. For organizational customers, the fee is 66,000 VND/month, equivalent to 792,000 VND/year.
The non-stop toll collection (ETC) market in Vietnam currently has two service providers, including VETC of the Tasco ecosystem and ePass of Viettel.
Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Le Quang Hung - Business Director of VETC Automatic Toll Collection Co., Ltd. said that toll collection stems from changes in the operating model according to Decree 119/2024/ND-CP.
According to VETC, previously, the premium account had both the function of storing money and being used for payment. However, according to the new model, this account is converted into a traffic account, which does not contain money and must be connected to a non-cash payment method, including an electronic wallet.
This change leads to new investment requirements and operating costs such as customer identification (KYC) according to the State Bank's standards; maintaining a secured payment account at the bank; costs paid to the bank when customers top up; maintaining 24/7 information security infrastructure.
VETC said that in the initial transition phase, businesses have self-paid these costs to support customers. However, as the scale of users and security requirements increase, businesses believe that applying management fees is necessary to maintain operations and reinvest in services.
VETC affirms that account management fees do not apply to all vehicles that have ETC tags affixed.
The enterprise currently has nearly 5 million VETC tags carriers. Among these, about 2.6 million VETC e-wallets have completed identification, linked bank accounts and are subject to fees.
Regarding the fee of 66,000 VND/month for corporate customers, VETC said that this amount is calculated according to the wallet account, not according to the number of vehicles.
Thus, a business with hundreds of vehicles, but using a common wallet account, only has to pay 66,000 VND/month.
According to VETC, the fee for business accounts is higher than for personal accounts because this customer group has a large trading volume, and at the same time generates a higher need for reconciliation, reporting and specialized support.
Regarding the fact that customers have to pay fees even when the account does not generate transactions, VETC confirms that fees are collected periodically every month. The enterprise explains that the costs of technical maintenance and account security are fixed and occur continuously even when the account is not used to pass through the station.
However, VETC representatives said that users can choose other payment methods to avoid paying this fee.
Customers can link credit cards instead of using VETC e-wallets to pay through traffic accounts. With this method, VETC currently does not charge account management fees.
Regarding the legal basis, VETC said that according to the 2023 Price Law, e-wallet services are not on the list of state-priced services. Therefore, businesses are entitled to self-price but must ensure publicity and transparency.
VETC also said it is ready to explain to state management agencies about the cost structure when requested. The business is researching benefits programs suitable for each customer group, and continues to receive feedback to adjust policies in a suitable direction.
