On August 26, 2025, the People’s Committee of Da Nang City officially granted a license to the Basal Pay project – a blockchain-based application for domestic transfers for foreign tourists, to be tested within the FinTech sandbox in Da Nang.
This is the first time in Vietnam that a solution designed to integrate the Travel Rule standard of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been deployed within a clear legal framework, complying with international requirements on transaction transparency and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT).
Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh, Head of the Fintech Application Committee of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association, and Project Director of AlphaTrue Solutions JSC.
Developed by AlphaTrue Solutions JSC, Basal Pay aims to address bottlenecks in foreign visitors’ conversion transactions. Instead of going through multiple intermediaries, users can directly convert crypto assets to fiat money and vice versa in just a few seconds, with costs approximately 30% lower than traditional methods.
The project is built on a blockchain platform and integrates the Travel Rule mechanism: requiring the collection and transmission of identification information of both senders and recipients during transactions, while storing the data for a minimum of five years, thus enhancing efficiency for users and supporting supervisory authorities in risk monitoring.
The 36-month testing roadmap consists of five phases, including platform development, limited operation, scale-up, evaluation, and official deployment. The entire process is supervised by the Department of Science and Technology and the Da Nang City government to ensure legal compliance and assess the potential integration of blockchain with the traditional financial system.
According to the General Statistics Office, in the first seven months of 2025, Da Nang welcomed nearly 11 million staying visitors, with estimated service revenue reaching VND 18,000 billion. The licensing of Basal Pay by the Da Nang People’s Committee coincides with the city’s implementation of Resolution 29-NQ/TU (April 2025), which emphasizes controlled testing of new models such as digital assets and digital financial services to attract investment funds and financial startups.
In parallel, Resolution 222/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly (effective from September 1, 2025) identifies Da Nang as one of the two localities chosen to establish the Vietnam International Financial Center with specific mechanisms and policies. In this context, Basal Pay is not just a technology project but also reflects the alignment between local development orientation and national strategy.
Vietnam is currently among the most vibrant crypto markets globally. According to Chainalysis data, Vietnam ranks 5th worldwide in crypto adoption, with over 17 million users. However, most activities occur in a legal “gray area,” lacking a clear monitoring mechanism, and posing risks of money laundering, fraud, and budget losses. The controlled testing mechanism is considered a necessary tool, allowing for the experimentation of new technologies while ensuring management within a closely monitored scope.
Basal Pay has received support from many international guests due to its ability to transparently and conveniently convert crypto assets into fiat money.
Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh, Head of the Fintech Application Committee of the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association and Project Director of AlphaTrue Solutions JSC, stated, “Basal Pay is expected to be a pioneering step for Vietnam to demonstrate its AML/CFT compliance capabilities, thereby enhancing financial transparency and laying the groundwork for exiting the FATF gray list.”
International experience shows that sandboxes help control risks while attracting large-scale investment. In Singapore, total fintech investment in 2024 reached $1.3 billion, with the crypto segment accounting for $267 million (KPMG Pulse of Fintech H2’24). In Thailand, the SEC’s December 2024 report recorded an average daily transaction value of nearly $128 million, with approximately 265,000 active accounts, reflecting the benefits of the supervised testing framework for the domestic market.
For Vietnam, the pressure of being placed on the FATF gray list makes the sandbox even more urgent. According to the IMF, when a country is on this list, FDI can decrease by an average of 3% of GDP, while other investment flows can drop by 3.6% of GDP. SWIFT noted a nearly 50% reduction in correspondent banking relationships in monitored countries. The case of Pakistan is a clear example: during 2008-2019, the country suffered cumulative losses of about $38 billion. In this context, Basal Pay is seen as a test case, providing practical data to help Vietnam enhance its reputation in the process of global financial integration.
Mr. Le Anh Quoc, CEO of AlphaTrue Solutions JSC, introduces the Basal Pay project
Mr. Le Anh Quoc, CEO of AlphaTrue Solutions JSC, shared that Basal Pay is designed with three layers of identification and a mechanism to automatically transmit transaction data according to the Travel Rule standard to receiving units and store the information for five years, meeting supervisory requirements. “We hope that Basal Pay will become a model for how Vietnamese enterprises can master technology and comply with international standards from the testing phase,” he added.
Ms. Phan Thi Ngan, General Director of OneFin Vietnam JSC – AlphaTrue Solutions’ technology partner, stated that Basal Pay would enhance the experience of international visitors in Vietnam. The project will promote digital transformation, contribute to easing cross-border payment difficulties, support supervisory authorities in monitoring, and build a modern and sustainable financial ecosystem.
Basal Pay not only provides experimental data for reference in the legal framework development for crypto assets but also reflects Vietnam’s efforts to gradually implement FATF Recommendation 15. In fact, FATF’s June 2025 report showed that only 29% of the 138 assessed countries fully or largely met the requirements, indicating a global challenge.
Therefore, testing Basal Pay also holds strategic significance for national financial security. If effective, the project can help mitigate the risk of illegal capital flows and create a foundation for the development of safe and sustainable digital payment models in Vietnam.
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