 Cashless payment gains popularity |
Luu Tuan Nghia, Sales Director of Visa Vietnam, says a survey of consumer attitudes conducted in August and September indicated that the popularity of cash payments has fallen dramatically since the COVID-19 outbreak and will continue to decline. The survey showed that more than 60% of Vietnamese consumers are carrying less cash thanks to the convenience of paying by bankcard.
'Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an upsurge in e-commerce. According to our survey, 76% of customers pay online several times a week, 86% at least once a week, and 20% don’t use cash all month. These are definite signs that consumers are adopting cashless payment,' said Nghia.
The government recently approved the Project on Cashless Payment in Vietnam for 2021-2025, under which non-cash payments will make up 50% of all payments and 80% of people 15 or older will have a transaction account at a bank or other financial institution by 2025.
Pham Tien Dung, Head of the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam, said, 'Vietnam has one of the fastest mobile payment growth rates in the region. Back in 2016, we never imagined we would have the kind of technological applications we have today.'
Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong says the Bank has developed legislation to support digital payment services and non-cash payment channels.
Hong says, 'Using mobile banking, e-wallets, and a digital ecosystem of banks and payment intermediaries, consumers can carry out money transfers and other common transactions. Payment via mobile devices in Vietnam has grown 90% in number of transactions, and 150% in value. Many banks have 90% of their total transaction value conducted digitally. 82% of Vietnamese consumers used some form of digital payment in 2021, the highest rate in the region.'
The State Bank of Vietnam plans to increase incentives to encourage cashless payment, and upgrade the national payment infrastructure and automated payment system to support more online transactions.