According to a recent survey by Visa, digital banking is of high interest of Vietnamese consumers with 77% of survey participants knowing about digital banking and 31% of them using digital banking services. Bill payment service is the most preferred by Vietnamese consumers (72%), followed by money transfer (67%).

This is consistent with Cimigo's study in late 2019 which shows that Vietnamese users increased the use of e-wallets. In particular, the most-used services included phone top-ups, money transfers, and recurring bill payments.

The Covid-19 epidemic has built momentum for the trend of cashless payments in Vietnam in general. According to the Vietnam National Payment Joint Stock Company (Napas), in the first five months of the year, the Napas electronic clearing and financial switching system processed more than 800 million transactions, worth over VND8 quadrillion, a growth rate of 113% in volume and 169% in transaction value over the same period in 2020.

In particular, the online payment segment increased sharply. The total value of card and e-wallet payments through Napas online payment gateway increased by 125% year on year while the total value of card payment transactions at points of sale (POS) increased by 50%.

According to Visa survey, more people are interested in new payment methods with 83% of survey participants aware of biometric payments (such as fingerprint scanning, voice/face recognition or retina scan) and most of them are also interested in experiencing the new method. Non-numeric cards are gradually recognized by 62% of consumers and up to 77% will use them for future transactions.

Despite the growth of digital payments, the proportion of cash payments in Vietnam is still higher than expected. According to the State Bank of Vietnam, by the end of 2020, the proportion of cash in total means of payment was 11.5%. By the end of April 2021, it increased to 11.53%, equivalent to about VND1.43 quadrillion.

Meanwhile, the project to develop non-cash payment in Vietnam for the period 2016-2020 aimed at the proportion of cash on the total means of payment would be less than 10% by the end of 2020.

The reason is that people in rural, remote and isolated areas still prefer cash. In addition, digital payments on e-commerce platforms are still small in number and healthcare and education sectors have not promoted non-traditional payment.

Hai Dang

Mobile payment users in Vietnam rank third in the world

The rate of users pay with their phones in Vietnam is estimated at 29.1 percent, the third-highest in the world, according to Statista Digital Market Outlook.