ATM card holders in Vietnam had 89.8 trillion VND (4.08 billion USD) in42.7 million current accounts at the end of June, according to thelatest data from the State Bank of Vietnam. The savings earn 1.2 percentin interest per year.

The central bank said thatoverall savings were down by 10 trillion VND (454.54 million USD) fromearly June, but still higher than the last months of 2012.

By the end of the first quarter, the amount in ATM accounts was 99trillion VND (4.5 billion USD), much higher than the 85 trillion VND(3.86 billion USD) for the same period last year.

The SBV said by the end of the second quarter, year-on-year currentaccounts rose from 10 percent to 15 percent both in account number andvalue. However, no specific comparative figures were released.

According to the Vietnam Card Association, nearly 20 years after beingintroduced, millions of Vietnam's ATM cards are still used to withdrawcash at ATMs instead of performing non-cash transactions.

The central bank has taken measures to boost non-cash transactions,including a draft decree on limiting the use of cash for largetransactions which is expected to be submitted to the Government forapproval this year.

Under the draft, individuals will not be allowed to pay for securities, houses, land and large vehicles with cash.

Organisations will not be allowed to use cash for transactions in realestate, securities, aircraft, ships and cars, or transactions exceedingthe limit set by the central bank.

The central bankis also implementing a project on non-cash payments. It hopes to have150,000 point of sales (POS) nationwide by 2015 compared to the present94,000.-VNA