# Entity Plan: TS Block

The fintech holding entity for TS Holdings. TS Pay (B2B payments + settlement) is the first product line at launch; future product-line spin-outs over Y4–Y8 expand to lending (Y4), wealth (Y6), insurance (Y8). The biggest single Y2 launch by capital intensity and the gate that everything regulated downstream depends on.

Y2 Q1–Q2 launch contingent on **Vietnamese bank-partner anchor LOI signed** — this is non-negotiable per the Vietnam-primary market reality (SBV IPS license requires ≥51% Vietnamese ownership and bank-side partnership materially de-risks the licensing process).

---

## Identity

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Entity name | TS Block Pte Ltd (Singapore) + TS Block Vietnam JSC + TS Pay Vietnam JSC (operating sub) |
| Group | TS Capital & Financial Services |
| Target launch | Year 2, Q1–Q2 |
| Mechanism | Greenfield |
| Tier (D17) | **Tier 3** for D17 lens (SBV-regulated, but customers are merchants + banks, not gov-as-customer) — but carries its own distinct regulatory blast-radius profile |
| Legal structure | Singapore HoldCo + Vietnamese JSC operating sub. **≥51% Vietnamese ownership at OpCo level required for IPS license**. Bank-partner anchor takes 15–25% stake at launch. |
| Vietnamese majority required | **Yes** (sector-regulated, per SBV) |

---

## Mission and Wedge

**Mission:** Build Vietnam's most trusted B2B fintech holding — start with payments + settlement infrastructure that every TS portfolio entity and Vietnamese commercial customer can integrate, then expand into lending, wealth, and insurance product lines as each matures.

**TS Pay (first product line) wedge:** B2B payments + settlement for Vietnamese commercial operators — alternative to fragmented bank-direct integrations + Visa/Mastercard merchant accounts + cross-bank settlement complexity. Single API + Vietnamese-bank-network integration + cross-portfolio embedded payments for TS Holdings entities.

**Why TS Block as holding, not single product:** Per D9 — fintech requires SBV licensing; expansion path from payments to lending to wealth to insurance is natural over 5–8 years; holding structure preserves product-line spin-out optionality per D20.

**Why now (Y2):**
- Vietnamese B2B payments market: ~$40–60B annual transaction volume, growing 25%+; consolidation pressure from regulatory clarity (Decree 52/2024 modernizes IPS framework)
- Bank-partner appetite for Vietnamese fintech partnership is high (banks need digital-native partners post-COVID)
- TS portfolio entities (Mira, TS Land, TS People payroll Y3+, TS Health, TS Education) all need embedded payments — captive demand
- SBV IPS license process is established (no novelty risk); ~12–18 months from application to operational

**Why us:**
- TS portfolio entities provide bootstrap transaction volume + reference customers
- Bank-partner anchor relationship + Vietnamese majority structure cleanly addresses sector regulation
- D9 + D17 + D21 capital recycling supports the long expansion arc (TS Pay generates cash; funds Y4–Y8 product-line spin-outs)
- TS National AI (Y3 Q4) provides fraud-detection AI for sensitive workloads

---

## Market and Competition

**Total addressable market (Vietnam, 2026):**
- Vietnamese B2B payments + settlement market: ~$300–500M revenue (commission on $40–60B transaction volume)
- Vietnamese e-commerce payments: $150–250M
- Mortgage + lending payments operations: significant adjacent market
- Combined TS Pay addressable: ~$200–350M serviceable; ~25–35% growth

**Serviceable obtainable market (5-year):** $25–50M ARR realistic at TS Pay maturity

**Named competitors:**

| Competitor | Stage | Strength | Weakness | Differentiation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Momo** | Vietnamese fintech consumer leader | Massive consumer base, scale | Consumer-led; weak B2B focus | B2B-only positioning |
| **ZaloPay** | VNG fintech arm | Zalo ecosystem distribution | Consumer-led | B2B focus |
| **VNPay** | Vietnamese B2B payments incumbent | Established merchant base | Older tech stack, weaker developer experience | Modern API + developer-friendly + TS portfolio embedded |
| **PayOO, NganLuong, Onepay** | Vietnamese payment gateways | Established, narrow specialty | Limited expansion ambition | Broader product-line + holding strategy |
| **9Pay, Appota Pay** | Smaller Vietnamese B2B players | Niche relationships | Sub-scale | Scale + bank-partner anchor |
| **International fintechs** (Stripe, Adyen) | Premium platforms | Sophisticated platforms | Vietnamese data-localization + IPS license friction | Vietnamese-resident + IPS-licensed |
| **Direct-bank integrations** (Techcombank, VPBank, Vietcombank APIs) | Bank-direct | Bank trust | Bank-by-bank integration friction | Unified API across banks |

**Macro trends:**
- Decree 52/2024 modernizes IPS regulatory framework
- Vietnamese mobile-payment penetration >70%; B2B is the under-served segment
- SBV's "Mobile Money" framework matures
- Vietnamese cross-border trade growing (FDI suppliers, regional commerce) → cross-border B2B payments demand

---

## Customer Strategy

**Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):**
- Internal: every TS portfolio entity with transaction flow (Mira F&B chains, TS Land real estate, TS People payroll, TS Health, TS Education, eventually TS Notary)
- External commercial: Vietnamese mid-market B2B merchants ($5M–$500M revenue) handling supplier payments, customer settlement, payroll, recurring B2B billing

**First 10 customer targets (Y2 Q2 – Y3 Q4):**

1. **Mira** (internal) — F&B chain payments + supplier settlement
2. **TS Land** (internal) — escrow + transaction payments for real estate deals
3. **TS People** (Y3+) — payroll disbursement
4. **TS Health, TS Education, TS Media & Creative** — embedded customer payments
5. **Vinfast supplier ecosystem** — payment-to-supplier infrastructure
6. **Vinamilk supplier network** — same
7. **Highlands Coffee / Pizza 4P's** (via Mira) — outlet-to-supplier payments
8. **Pharmacity** — pharmacy chain supplier payments
9. **External: 1–2 mid-tier Vietnamese banks** — white-label B2B payment infrastructure (mortgage, supplier-financing flows)
10. **External: Vietnamese cross-border trade merchants** — Vietnamese-to-Cambodian/Lao B2B payments

**Customer acquisition motion:**
- Y2 Q2–Q4: Captive internal portfolio + bank-partner anchor's customer channel
- Y3+: Dedicated commercial AE; sector-vertical sales (F&B, real estate, supply chain)
- Channel: Bank-partner cross-sell; ERP partners (Mira, MISA, Sapo) integration

**Pricing model:**
- Transaction fees: 0.3–1.2% per transaction (volume-tiered); below Visa/Mastercard for domestic B2B
- Monthly platform fee for high-volume merchants
- Internal portfolio billing: cost-plus 5% (favorable internal rate)

**Customer wedge gate (D18):** Bank-partner LOI signed + 3+ internal portfolio commitments + 2 external merchant LOIs + SBV IPS license process initiated.

---

## Capital and Cap Table

**Y2 launch capital:** ~$8–12M total deployment Y2

| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Founder direct injection | $500K–1M |
| Bank-partner strategic investment | $5–8M (anchor; takes 15–25% stake) |
| Vietnamese-VC entity round (concurrent with bank partner) | $2–4M |
| SBV-required chartered capital escrow (separate from operating capital) | VND 50bn (~$2M) |

**Cap table at launch:**

| Stakeholder | Allocation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TS Holdings (via TS Block Pte Ltd Singapore) | 40–45% | Reduced from default 75–85% to accommodate Vietnamese majority + strategic bank investor |
| Bank-partner strategic | 15–25% | Critical anchor; provides credibility + customer pipeline + IPS-license-process partnership |
| Vietnamese co-investor (could be same bank or different — but combined Vietnamese ownership ≥51%) | 10–20% | Compliance with IPS Vietnamese-majority requirement |
| Operator-CEO + technical co-founder + key team | 15% | CEO 10%, CTO 3%, key team 2% |
| ESOP | 10% | Slightly compressed due to multi-investor cap table |
| External Vietnamese VC | 5–10% | Smaller given strategic-heavy cap table |

**Capital trajectory:**
- Y2: $8–12M deployed (above)
- Y3: $5–10M opex + IPS license operational capital
- Y4: TS Lending spin-out (parent retains 50%); Series A for TS Block group $20–40M target
- Y6: TS Wealth spin-out; TS Block group strategic raise from bank-partner expansion $100–200M
- Y8: TS Insurance spin-out

**Capital gate (D18):**
- [ ] Bank-partner LOI signed (Techcombank, VPBank, MB Bank, or BIDV)
- [ ] Founder + Vietnamese co-investors fund Vietnamese-majority structure
- [ ] SBV IPS license application progressing (12–18 months process; can start before launch but operational gate is license received)

---

## Operator-CEO Profile

**Required:**
- 12+ years in Vietnamese fintech / payments / banking digital
- Has shipped SBV-regulated payment products
- Vietnamese national (mandatory for SBV-regulated entity)
- Comfortable with bank-partner relationship management at executive level
- English fluent for international payment partner relationships (Visa, Mastercard, regional)

**Sourcing channels:**
- **Momo senior executives** with B2B ambition (Momo is consumer-led; some senior leaders want B2B challenge)
- **ZaloPay senior leadership** with similar motivation
- **VNPay senior executives** looking for modern-stack opportunity
- **Vietnamese bank fintech division heads** — Techcombank, VPBank, MB Bank, BIDV digital banking executives ready to operate outside bank constraints
- **Returnees from international fintech** (Stripe, Adyen regional, Ant Group, Lazada Pay) with Vietnamese background
- **PVcomBank / OCB / TPBank fintech senior** (smaller bank fintech leaders looking for scale)

**Compensation:** Founder-shareholder variant. CEO 10% + cash $150–200K base + 50–80% bonus. CTO 3% + cash $110–150K.

**CEO gate (D18):** Named candidate identified by Y1 Q3. CIR engagement Y1 Q4. Offer signed by Y2 Q1 close.

---

## Founding Team

| Role | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Operator-CEO | Y1 Q4 / Y2 Q1 | Pre-launch |
| CTO / Co-founder | Y2 Q1 | Payments infrastructure depth |
| Head of Compliance / SBV Liaison | Y2 Q1 | Critical for IPS licensing |
| Head of Risk | Y2 Q2 | Fraud + AML |
| Senior Engineers × 4 (payments core + integrations) | Y2 Q2 | Core platform build |
| Bank-partner Integration Lead | Y2 Q2 | Anchor-bank API integration |
| Sales / BD Lead | Y2 Q3 | Customer acquisition |
| Customer Success Lead | Y2 Q3 | Multi-customer support |
| AML / KYC Lead | Y2 Q2 | Regulatory compliance |
| Legal Counsel (dedicated, in addition to Shared Services) | Y2 Q1 | SBV regulatory + bank partnership |

**Headcount:** Y2 end: 12–18 · Y3: 30–50 · Y5: 100–150 · Y8: 250–400 (TS Block group total).

---

## Product / Tech Strategy

**MVP scope (6 months post-launch — Y2 Q4):**
- Single-API B2B payment acceptance (banks, cards, QR codes, e-wallet)
- Cross-bank settlement (Techcombank + VPBank + MB Bank + BIDV at minimum)
- Embedded payment integration with Mira (first internal customer)
- Merchant dashboard + reconciliation
- AML + fraud detection (basic, with TS National AI Y3 Q4 enhancement)

**Wave 2 (Y3):**
- Payroll disbursement (TS People integration)
- Escrow + transaction-protection (TS Land integration)
- Cross-border B2B payments (Vietnamese-to-regional)
- Advanced fraud AI via TS National AI

**Build vs license:**
- Card processing: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, NAPAS partnerships
- AML / KYC: hybrid (in-house engine + 3rd-party identity verification — VNPT-CA, VietGuys)
- Fraud AI: in-house + TS National AI (Y3 Q4+)
- Bank integrations: bespoke per bank (no choice — SBV environment)

---

## Go-to-Market

- Y2 Q2–Q4: Captive internal + bank-partner cross-sell + founder-CEO direct outreach
- Y3+: Dedicated commercial sales; ERP integrations (Mira, MISA, Sapo)
- Channel: Bank-partner sales channel; ERP / accounting partner ecosystem
- Marketing: VINASA fintech conferences; SBV-friendly industry presence; case studies on Vietnamese B2B payment efficiency

---

## Milestones

| Horizon | Target |
|---|---|
| Pre-launch (Y1 Q4 – Y2 Q1) | CEO + CTO + bank-partner LOI + SBV pre-engagement |
| Y2 Q2 (launch) | Singapore + VN JSC incorporated; chartered capital escrowed; bank-partner equity closed |
| Y2 Q4 | First transactions live with Mira; merchant base 50–100; transaction volume $5–10M/month |
| Y3 Q2 | SBV IPS license received; full commercial launch; 500+ merchants; $30M+/month volume |
| Y3 Q4 | TS National AI fraud-detection integration live; cross-border payments beta |
| Y4 Q3 | **TS Lending spin-out per D20** (lending product line matured 18+ months) |
| Y6 | TS Wealth spin-out; TS Block group strategic raise $100–200M |
| Y8 | TS Insurance spin-out; TS Block group at $40–80M revenue |

---

## Top Risks

1. **Bank-partner LOI fails or partner pulls** — entity cannot launch without bank anchor. Mitigation: parallel conversations with 2–3 bank candidates; backup-anchor identified; partnership terms structured for resilience (no exclusivity clauses that constrain alternatives).
2. **SBV IPS licensing delay / denial** — 12–18 months is typical; longer is possible; denial would be catastrophic. Mitigation: experienced regulatory counsel from Day 1; SBV pre-engagement Y1 Q4; bank partner advocacy.
3. **Vietnamese-majority structure conflict with founder economics** — founder ownership compressed to 40–45% (vs 75–85% portfolio default). Mitigation: D17 / D22 / D23 precedent; long-term sub-holding governance via TS Block Pte Ltd Singapore retains operational influence even with minority direct ownership.
4. **Fraud / regulatory incident** — payments business has high-stakes operational risk. Mitigation: TS National AI fraud AI; dedicated Risk + Compliance leadership Y2 Q1–Q2; insurance coverage.

---

## Cross-portfolio synergies

| Internal | Direction |
|---|---|
| Mira | Customer (Y2+ outlet payments) |
| TS Land | Customer (Y3+ escrow + transactions) |
| TS People | Customer (Y3+ payroll disbursement) |
| TS Notary (Y3) | Customer (notary-fee payments + transaction-escrow) |
| TS Health, TS Education, TS Media & Creative, Signet, etc. | Customer (embedded payments) |
| TS Intel | Commercial AI for non-sensitive workloads |
| TS National AI (Y3 Q4) | Fraud AI for sensitive workloads + gov-customer-derived AI |
| TS Shared Services | Cost-plus 8% |
| TS Investment Services (Y6) | Sibling within TS Capital & FS group |

---

## Tier-3 (SBV-regulated, not gov-customer-D17 sense)

**Not Tier-1 per D17 lens** but carries equivalent operational complexity:
- ≥51% Vietnamese ownership (sector regulation)
- SBV IPS licensing + ongoing compliance
- AML / KYC programs
- PDPD + Decree 53 data localization
- Vietnamese-citizen Người đại diện
- Big 4 audit + Vietnamese audit standards
- Quarterly SBV reporting

Banking: separate bank relationships from rest of TS portfolio.

---

## Exit scenarios

| Scenario | Probability | Outcome | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carve-out IPO (HOSE/HNX or regional listing) | 10–15% | $500M–$2B valuation | Y7–Y8 |
| Strategic sale to international fintech (Adyen Asia, Stripe regional) | 15–20% | $300M–$800M | Y6–Y8 |
| Strategic sale to Vietnamese conglomerate (FPT, Sea Limited Vietnam consolidation) | 10–15% | $200M–$500M | Y6–Y8 |
| Bank-partner buyout (anchor bank takes full ownership) | 10–15% | $200M–$500M | Y5–Y7 |
| Sustained portfolio entity | 30–40% | $20–40M ARR; foundation for product-line spin-outs | Y3+ |
| Stall / regulatory setback | 10–15% | Sub-scale; constrained by license / partnership issues | Y3–Y5 |

**5-year target (75th percentile):** $200–500M valuation
**8-year target (75th percentile):** $500M–$1.5B valuation (TS Block group with spin-outs)

---

## Dependencies and gating

- Bank-partner LOI signed (gating)
- SBV pre-engagement begun
- Vietnamese co-investor commitments confirmed
- Operator-CEO + CTO + Compliance Lead signed
- Mira anchor-customer commitment (Y2 Q2 minimum)
- TS Public Sector Holdings VN JSC operational (Y2 Q1) — needed for some cross-portfolio gov-adjacent flows

---

## Related documents

- [../aggressive-8-year-growth-plan.md](../aggressive-8-year-growth-plan.md)
- [../operator-ceo-recruiting.md](../operator-ceo-recruiting.md)
- [../government-customer-compliance.md](../government-customer-compliance.md) — even though Tier 3 for D17, SBV-regulated disciplines parallel
- [../../notes/decisions.md](../../notes/decisions.md) — D1, D3, D9 (TS Block as fintech holding), D17, D18, D19, D20 (spin-outs Y4+), D21 (capital recycling)