Vietnam moves towards cashless society

Vietnam is on the way to create a cashless society as more people are turning to e-payment instead of traditional payment methods.

Payment via credit card at a super market in Hanoi. Photo: Viet Linh.

A recent survey from payment services provider VISA revealed in 2020, 47% of Vietnamese customers turned to contactless payment, 45% used online payment and 51% have e-wallet accounts.

“Such trend is similar to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which is also the reason for Visa to announce the startups acceleration program for the region, including Vietnam,” said Director of Visa in Vietnam and Laos Dang Tuyen Dung.

“The program will offer opportunities for startups to join digital economy, in which they are provided with the required knowledge to help them further develop,” noted Ms. Dung.

Given Visa’s large network of customers and partners, the program is expected to help propel Vietnamese companies with high potential to gain foothold in regional markets, stated Ms. Dung.

Visa President in Asia-Pacific Chris Clark said from the company’s experience, startups are facing certain difficulties when expanding their operation abroad.

In the first year of the program, Visa will select six potential startups to support, added Mr. Clark.

Meanwhile, the program also helps customers and enterprises overcome difficulties from the Covid-19 through the application of technologies, in turn promoting cashless payment.

In the 2016-18 period, startups in Vietnam received nearly US$900 million in funding, nearly triple the amount recorded in previous periods.

Vietnam is also the top destination in the Southeast Asia in terms of attracting investment into new payment methods, accounting for 36% of total funding into this field in 2019 in the region.