Technology 3/12: QR supports cross-border payments between Vietnam and China

Cross-border QR payment Vietnam - China

On December 2, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) in collaboration with UnionPay International (UPI), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam ( Vietcombank ) officially announced the bilateral retail payment connection service via QR code between Vietnam and China.

In the first phase, Chinese tourists can use VIETQRGlobal code to pay at shopping malls, shopping areas, tourist attractions, restaurants and retail stores in Vietnam. This helps tourists have a fast, convenient and safe payment experience.

Chinese tourists scan VIETQRGlobal code to pay in Vietnam. (Source: NAPAS)

According to the plan, from the beginning of 2026, the service will be expanded in the opposite direction. Vietnamese users can scan QR codes using the applications of NAPAS member organizations to pay at points in the UnionPay network in China.

This event marks an important step forward in connecting the payment systems between the two countries, contributing to promoting trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. At the same time, the project also aims to use local currencies in cross-border payments, creating a foundation for the development of digital finance in the region.

Android 16 Launches with AI to Help Parents

Google has just announced new features on Android 16, focusing on improving user experience and ensuring family safety.

One highlight is AI-powered notification summaries – artificial intelligence technology that automatically summarizes notification content. Users do not need to read each lengthy notification but still grasp the main information, saving time and reducing distractions.

Android 16 interface with AI summarizes notifications and controls devices, helping parents manage usage time more effectively. (Source: Android)

Android 16 also integrates built-in parental controls, allowing parents to easily manage their children's devices. These tools help control content, usage time, and allowed apps, creating a safer digital environment for children.

The new features will roll out first on eligible Pixel devices, and then expand to more devices. This is considered an important step for Google in integrating AI into its mobile operating system, while meeting the growing demand for security and convenience.

Amazon partners with Nvidia to boost AI power

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that it will integrate Nvidia's NVLink Fusion technology into its new generation of AI chips called Trainium4. This is a step to speed up the connection between chips, helping to build a large-scale AI server system, serving the training of giant artificial intelligence models.

In parallel, AWS also launched Trainium3 servers, each containing 144 chips, with more than 4 times the performance of the previous generation and 40% energy savings. According to Mr. Dave Brown - AWS Vice President in charge of computing and machine learning - Amazon's goal is to bring high performance at competitive prices to attract large AI customers.

A Tranium3 artificial intelligence chip manufactured by Amazon Web Services. (Source: Reuters)

In addition to hardware, Amazon also introduced new versions of the Nova AI model. Nova 2 is faster and supports multimedia (text, images, voice, video ). In addition, the Sonic model is capable of responding with a “human-like” voice. AWS also launched Nova Forge, a tool that helps businesses build their own AI models based on their own data.

While Nova hasn't reached the same level of popularity as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, Amazon still saw AWS revenue grow 20% in the most recent quarter, thanks to strong demand for computing and AI infrastructure.

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