A consumer is making a payment via QR Code. (Photo: enternew.vn) Statistics of the State Bank of Vietnam showed that there were more than 104million valid individual payment accounts at banks as of the end of March, witha total outstanding sum of more than 741.3 trillion VND (31.9 billion USD),representing a rise of 11.2 percent against the end of 2020.
Individual checkable deposits rose by three times during the past five yearswith a considerable increase since 2020.
Specifically, individual checkable deposits rose by 55 percent against the endof March 2020. In comparison, individual deposits, including both demandand time deposits, increased by more than 5.5 percent from the end ofMarch 2020 to the end of February 2021.
The central bank said thatthe increase in demand deposits at banks was attributed to the results of thefinancial banking system’s digital transformation process together with thedevelopment of e-banking, digital banking services, e-wallets as well as thepromotion of a comprehensive digital finance ecosystem to create favourableconditions for citizens in conducting cashless payment.
The COVID-19 pandemic also pushed up demand for cashless payment andsignificantly contributed to changing the habit of using cash to cashlesspayment methods, the central bank said.
Statistics also showed that banking transactions conducted online increased by5.9 percent in number and 28.4 percent in value in the first three months ofthis year over the same period last year.
Mobile bankingtransactions rose by 78 percent in number and 103 percent in value while via QRcode by 83 percent and 146 percent, respectively.
Overall, cashless payment transactions jumped by 344.3 percent in number and96.1 percent in value in 2020 against the previous year.
A recent survey by Visa also revealed strong increases in the use of e-wallets,contactless payment via cards and smartphones and QR Code. The year-on-yeargrowth rate of the total e-commerce transaction value in the first quarter of2021 rose by 5.5 times compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
Notably, contactless card payments were used the most for food and cateringservices. Payments via QR Code strongly increased in the pandemic, especiallyin bill payment, retail shopping and at supermarkets.
According to Dang Tuyet Nhung, Visa’s country manager for Vietnam and Laos,there was a significant change in the shopping and payment habits ofVietnamese consumers since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumerswere seeking safer and more convenient shopping experiences, she said.
It is security and convenience that are promoting the switching from cash todigital payment methods, she said.
Still, COVID-19 was an unexpected catalyst to make payment habits and behaviorchange faster. In the long term, Vietnam has set a goal of digitising thebanking industry.
Under the banking digital transformation plan to 2025 with a vision to 2030,the central bank targeted that at least 50 percent of adults would useelectronic payment services and at least 70 percent of transactions would beconducted via digital channels. By 2030, the percentages were expected to be atleast 80 percent.
Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Kim Anh said that about 95 percentof credit institutions in Vietnam were implementing digitaltransformation strategies./.
VNA
