Businesses linking traffic accounts with banks near conversion deadline

Businesses using VETC and ePass can link their traffic accounts with banks like BIDV and Vietcombank for automatic toll payments from early 2026.

December 31 is the deadline for businesses to convert their vehicle toll collection accounts to traffic accounts. Failure to complete this conversion will prevent these vehicles from passing through electronic toll collection (ETC) booths.

Many businesses still manually top up their electronic toll collection (ETC) service accounts, rather than linking them with a payment method.

Duc Hoang, director of a transportation company in Tu Liem Ward, Ha Noi, stated that his company still manually tops up its VETC account for its fleet of over 30 vehicles. Each time, the accountant deposits around 100 million VND and must monitor the balance to top up when funds are low.

"I am unsure about the process of linking a business traffic account with a bank. If money were directly deducted from the company account, we would not have to worry about checking the daily balance, which would be more convenient," Hoang said.

On 30/12, a representative from VETC Joint Stock Company announced that 150,000 of their business customers using electronic toll collection services have completed identification requirements under Decree 119 on road traffic electronic payments.

VETC is finalizing an e-wallet specifically for business customers, initially connecting with the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). This will allow toll fees to be directly deducted from the business's BIDV account when a vehicle passes a toll booth. VETC representatives indicated plans to expand this e-wallet linkage to more banks and payment intermediaries in the future.

Current ways to link traffic accounts with payment methods. Graphics: Anh Tu

Similarly, a representative from Vietnam Digital Transport Joint Stock Company (VDTC), the operator of ePass, confirmed no issues are arising close to the conversion deadline for business traffic accounts and linking payment methods.

Currently, ePass business customers can link their traffic accounts with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) for electronic toll collection payments.

They can also link traffic accounts with debit services at Military Bank (MB) and Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) accounts through the VNPT Epay payment gateway. This gateway charges 1,000-3,000 VND (excluding VAT) per transaction for traffic payments ranging from 20,000 to over 100,000 VND.

Both VETC and ePass also support businesses linking traffic accounts with international credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, for ETC service payments.

Applying ETC toll tags on the Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay expressway, 30/7/2022. Photo: Quynh Tran

Previously, in late September, the Vietnam Road Administration extended the deadline for traffic account conversion for businesses and foreign individuals to 31/12, instead of the original 30/9. A significant challenge at the time was that most businesses preferred to pay for electronic toll collection services directly through their bank accounts.

However, a bank account itself is not considered a cashless payment instrument. According to State Bank of Vietnam regulations, payment instruments include checks, payment orders, debit orders, collection orders, debit collection orders, and bank cards. This means a bank account requires a payment order to enable automatic payment. Nevertheless, direct fee deduction from bank accounts via payment orders has not been feasible due to technical barriers. Electronic toll collection systems require instant, real-time transaction processing, with a processing speed not exceeding 200 ms (0.2 seconds) at a 99.7% success rate.

During the initial conversion period, in addition to guiding businesses, VETC announced it would provide dedicated support, prioritizing units with many vehicles, to ensure uninterrupted toll collection operations.

VETC currently serves nearly 4 million customers using its electronic toll collection service, recording 1.8-2 million transactions daily. EPass also has nearly 3 million customers.

Beyond ETC fees, VETC and ePass traffic accounts can also be used to pay for other fees and services, such as parking and airport access fees.