Chinese tourists can now scan QR codes to pay in Vietnam

The information was announced at the announcement ceremony of bilateral retail payment connection via QR code between Vietnam and China, organized by the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) in coordination with UnionPay International (UPI), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam ( Vietcombank ) in Hanoi.

Accordingly, stores, shopping malls, restaurants, retail systems such as Central Retail supermarkets, Highlands Coffee, tourist attractions of Sun World... are ready to accept QR code payments from Chinese tourists. The implementation is expected to bring a fast - convenient - safe payment experience, while supporting Vietnamese businesses to attract a large number of customers from this market.

This is the result of more than a year of technical coordination between the parties, since UPI and NAPAS signed the Memorandum of Understanding witnessed by senior leaders of the two countries in October 2024.

According to the plan, the reverse payment will be completed in early 2026, allowing Vietnamese people to use the applications of NAPAS member banks to scan QR codes for payments in China. When fully operational in both directions, the system will create a complete cross-border QR payment ecosystem serving the travel, trade and spending needs of people in the two countries.

Mr. Larry Wang, Vice President and General Manager of UnionPay International, said that Vietnam is an important market for China in terms of trade and tourism. UnionPay has built a wide payment network in Vietnam. This cross-border QR code connection project takes advantage of the local currency payment mechanism to promote the internationalization of the Renminbi (RMB). Optimizing the cross-border payment experience will further facilitate economic , trade and people-to-people exchanges between China and Vietnam. UnionPay will continue to cooperate with NAPAS to develop a safe and efficient payment ecosystem in the region.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh, General Director of NAPAS, emphasized that under the direction of the State Bank of Vietnam, as the national retail payment infrastructure operator, NAPAS has proactively enhanced international connectivity to deploy cross-border payment solutions between Vietnam and countries in the region. The bilateral QR connection is the result of close cooperation between NAPAS, UPI and banks, aiming to bring seamless payment experiences to people of the two countries, while enhancing financial connectivity, encouraging payments in local currencies and promoting bilateral trade and tourism.

The official opening of the service from today marks an important step forward in the Vietnam - China payment connection, creating more convenience for Chinese tourists when coming to Vietnam during the peak tourist season at the end of the year.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/du-khach-trung-quoc-tu-hom-nay-co-the-quet-ma-qr-thanh-toan-tai-viet-nam-20251202130854723.htm