Market... QR Lac Tanh

Ms. Ho Thi My Phuc sells pork at Lac Tanh market.

Go to the market and pay without cash...

How much is mine?

5,000 bunch of water spinach, 5,000 chili, 5,000 onions... Total 15,000 VND.

I scan the code for you!

OK... the money is here.

Next to the vegetable stall is a pork stall: 1 kg of pork belly costs 150,000 VND, minced meat costs 20,000 VND. Total is 170,000 VND. Shall I transfer the money, sis? There, there is a QR code, scan it. Done, sis... Those are 2 of hundreds of conversations at Lac Tanh market that I heard when I went to this QR market. Lac Tanh market (Tanh Linh) is an old "district market" for people in the eastern - western region of Lam Dong . The market has a wide variety of goods from branded clothes worth several million VND/item, to bunches of vegetables, fish priced at 5,000 - 10,000 VND, gold and silver shops supplying goods worth hundreds of millions of VND... because the market sells a wide variety of goods, many people in the area come to shop. Therefore, the market is crowded every day, especially from 5am to around 11am. The vegetables here are sourced from Da Lat, so they are always fresh. Pork, chicken, and duck are supplied by local people. Sea fish are brought up from Phan Thiet and La Gi wards. As for freshwater fish such as catfish, goby, snakehead, and catfish, especially the snakehead fish that has been a trademark of Tanh Linh for many years.

Mr. Nguyen Van The, who was buying vegetables and onions, said: “My family runs a restaurant, so every morning I go to the market to buy things. For many years now, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, I have been buying things by bank transfer. Most markets have QR codes, so when I buy anything, even 5,000 VND, I scan the code to transfer money quickly.”

Ms. Ho Thi Phuc, who was selling pork next to the la gim stall, saw me talking to Mr. The and immediately said: “When QR code was first launched, very few people used it, only intellectuals who went to the market transferred money. But now, there are people who are not familiar with the word but buying and paying by scanning the code is a daily thing... in this market.” According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan - in charge of managing Lac Tanh market: “In 2024, the People's Credit Fund (PCF) has given 267 QR codes placed at the stalls of traders at Lac Tanh market. At the market, almost 100% of traders use QR codes for payment. Traders and people paying via QR codes brings many benefits such as bringing less cash when going to the market, reducing the risk of dropping money on the way to the market, dropping money when taking money out of the pocket to pay or accidentally dropping money when moving around the market. In particular, cashless payments have helped the market ensure better security and order, leaving no room for bad guys to infiltrate and pickpocket shoppers and traders.

Buying vegetables for only 20,000 VND but Mr. The still transferred money

Digital transformation seen from... the market

Before going to Lac Tanh, I was told by Mr. Phan Thanh En - Deputy Director of State Bank Region 10 (managing Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces - PV): "Digital transformation and cashless payment for QTDND is one of the key tasks of State Bank Region 10. In Lam Dong province, many QTDND have deployed and performed well the non-cash payment stage. Retail outlets, from coffee shops to restaurants, almost all use QR codes for payment. Especially at Lac Tanh market, the program was supported by Cooperative Bank to implement the QTDND Lac Tanh synchronously and in an organized manner. The implementation for small traders to apply the conversion creates resonance for people to gradually get used to it, creating synchronization between people - government and banks... Ms. Le Thi Tuyen - Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of QTDND Lac Tanh said: To implement digital transformation, QTDND has invested in modern technology infrastructure modernize and diversify products and services: Provide online payment products and services such as Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, QR Code... to meet the diverse needs of customers. In addition, QTDND also strengthens propaganda, disseminates knowledge, deploys the provision of digital banking products and services to rural areas and ethnic minority areas to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas, helping customers and members experience the convenient technologies of products and services to contribute to the effective implementation of non-cash payments in the area...

Listening to Ms. Tuyen, I suddenly remembered that this morning I saw many Cham and K'Ho women living in the area going to the market and buying many expensive items such as branded clothes, some even stopped by gold shops to buy jewelry. Mr. A Son, a K'Ho person in Tra Cu village, Tanh Linh said: "This time, rubber latex is expensive, so any family with 1 - 3 hectares of rubber is making a big profit, earning 2 - 4.5 million VND per day, saving for a few days and then going to Lac Tanh market to buy gold, some people go to QTDND to save money... When people's lives are improved, it is clear that the demand for high-quality goods is also increasing. Almost everyone has a smartphone to connect with the government, watch news, entertainment and look up prices of goods they want to buy. From here, the widespread use of QR codes for payment in Tanh Linh commune, which has many ethnic minorities, is part of the development chain towards modernization with the country...

Mr. Nguyen Minh Dung - Vice Chairman of Tanh Linh Commune People's Committee said: The model "Market 4.0 - Cashless payment" deployed by QTDND Lac Tanh brings countless practical benefits to all participants such as: Saving time, safety, security, transparency, access to modern financial services. Contributing to limiting epidemics, minimizing social negativity, promoting the digital economy . QTDND Lac Tanh deploying QR codes for traders at Lac Tanh market not only brings benefits to people but also creates connections between traders, people and QTDND in credit transactions. Previously, in the area, some traders and people did not know much about QTDND so they borrowed money at high interest rates outside, but since deploying QR codes at Lac Tanh market, the effect of cashless payment has spread strongly. Many people know more about QTDND Lac Tanh so they have sought to borrow capital, contributing to preventing black credit in the area...

From the perspective of Lac Tanh market, the use of QR codes by traders and people for cashless payments is one of the practical actions in the roadmap for the entire population to participate in digital transformation. This is a good model that needs to be replicated...

QR Code (Quick Response Code) is a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read with a barcode scanner or a smartphone with a camera. QR codes are used to store a variety of information, from text, URLs, phone numbers, to more complex data. Currently, most banks and QTDND are using QR codes for money transfer transactions...

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