What is Vpostcode

The Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications has just launched the Vpostcode platform.

Vietnam used to have the 5 characters postcode system which is based on the administrative geography of the post office in a province or territory. This system seems doesn’t age well with the growing of residential areas, the rise of e-commerce, or the success of cash on delivery shipping.

The new Vpostcode is the 12 characters system is very easy to understand. It’s a combination of the legacy 5 characters postcode and 7 characters of the Google Open Location Code (also named Plus Codes.)

Expecting of widely use, they released a website, and apps for Android and iOS which will help the users to self create the Vpostcode code and/or QR code’s version, easily.

If it’s just about sending a location to the shipper, sending a Vpostcode is not easier than sending a Google Maps link at all. In the long term, this could be used to aid the development of smart cities and the e-government of Vietnam.

Do you need to use Vpostcode for building a ministry territory database? I don’t so. This, at the build time, does not work with Google Maps, Apple Maps, OpenStreetMapp, nor Here Maps. And the GPS location or Plus Codes are working well.

Hey, do you know which location is in this QR code?