VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have said that consumers’ lack of confidence in online payment methods, which have encountered problems, are hindering e-commerce development.

Nguyen Thi Nga in HCM City, for example, had problems with the Sai Gon Railway Station after it began selling rail tickets via internet. She booked a ticket after spending half a day looking for information and choosing a night train.

She decided to pay VND3.01 million for the return ticket on the HCM City – Hanoi route with her ATM card issued by a joint stock bank. Nga was informed that VND3.01 million was deducted from her account, but the Sai Gon Railway Station’s website showed a ‘system error’.

“When I checked the transaction history, I found that the transaction was pending. When I contacted the bank, I was told that I would have to wait at least eight days to get my money back,” she said.

Nga is not alone. In other cases, banks informed customers that transactions were successfully made, but sellers said they had not received any order. As a result, customers had to wait many days to get money reimbursed. 

In other cases, customers could not place orders though there was still money in their e-wallet, because the system reported payment errors.

Some card holders said they were astonished when receiving notices that their money were deducted from bank accounts, even though they did not make any online transactions. And they had to spend time to lodge complaints to banks.

A senior executive of a large joint stock bank in HCM City confirmed that problems may occur with any links in the process, from the payers’ banks, card switching units to suppliers’ banks. 

He said even a fiber cable break could affect transmission quality, thus interrupting transactions.

An information technology expert said that to develop online payment infrastructure well, banks need to shift from old transaction models to a modern banking model – with commercial services available on the internet. This will allow customers to place orders and make payments online. 

This means that banks, e-wallet and payment portals will have to work together to ensure ‘seamless connections’, so that customers can complete transactions simply.

In addition, it is necessary to build a database and network base strong enough to quickly process transactions.

Huynh Trung Minh, a renowned finance expert, noted that the problems were all unwanted by service providers, and that all banks have made heavy investment in the IT system to ensure smooth services.

However, the explanation has not satisfied consumers. They would rather make payment in cash than feel anxious about online transactions.

NLD