VietNamNet Bridge – Despite great efforts by the State Bank to encourage use of payment cards, Vietnamese still prefer cash.

When Hoang Thu Le made a payment for a refrigerator which had the quoted price of VND8 million at a home appliance center in District 5 in HCM City, she was told that VND8.16 million had been deducted from her account.

The saleswoman explained that she had to pay a 2 percent surcharge for the non-cash payment.

A senior executive of Vietcombank said that the 2 percent surcharge was not imposed on customers, but on goods and service providers. However, in reality, customers have to pay the fee as they are asked to “share difficulties with the goods and service providers”.

The banker said surcharges on POS (points of sale) is a must for banks, because this is the only source of income for banks to maintain card services (covering expenses and making payments to international card companies such as Visa and Mastercard).

Meanwhile, goods and service providers say with modest profits, they cannot cover the POS fees. As a result, the burden is on customers.

Cash payers more welcome

Le Song Nga, an office worker, said in most cases, salespeople prefer receiving cash. The loyal customers’ club of a supermarket in Hanoi reportedly can enjoy a 3 percent discount rate if they buy goods on fixed days of the weeks. However, those who pay with cards cannot use the discount.  

Phuong Mai, a student, said she feels “more secure” when shopping with cash instead of cards.

She recalled that some months ago, she could not pay for a shirt with cards.

“I was told that there were errors with the POS and asked to make the payment in cash. Therefore, I had to run around to look for an ATM to withdraw cash and then come back to the shopping mall, a big one in District 1 in the center of HCM City, to make the payment and get the shirt,” she said.

“It would be better to bring cash if you are in Vietnam, because there are not many POS for you to use,” Mai noted.

A report from the State Bank showed that 149,000 POS had been installed throughout the country by June 2014. However, most of the POS are located in Hanoi and HCM City.

Security solutions

Song Nga, the office worker, said she preferred buying goods online as she was too busy to go to shops. One day, she discovered a strange transaction and found that her account was hacked. Though she has a new card, she is still reluctant to use online services now.

A banker admitted that it is risky now to make payment with cards, both international and domestic cards. Banks have found that security solutions are unsafe, but no more effective solution has been found. Therefore, card holders have to protect themselves by using their cards carefully and making transactions with reputable distributors.

VNE