Cash transactions unexpectedly increased again.

TPO - While cashless payments continue to be strongly promoted, the amount of cash circulating in the economy has unexpectedly increased again, reflecting notable shifts in money flows within the banking system as well as in the operations of businesses and households.

According to the latest figures released by the State Bank of Vietnam, the ratio of cash in circulation to total means of payment increased to 11.52% by the end of January this year, the highest level in the last three years.

Compared to the 9.48% rate at the end of September 2025, this rate has increased by more than 2 percentage points, corresponding to an increase of approximately 360 trillion VND in cash circulating outside the banking system in just 4 months.

Cash transactions have suddenly increased again.

These developments are occurring against the backdrop of declining deposit flows at many banks. First-quarter financial reports show that some banks recorded a significant decrease in customer deposits compared to the beginning of the year. For example, at BIDV , customer deposits at the end of the first quarter decreased by approximately VND 82,030 billion, equivalent to a 3.69% reduction. Many other banks such as Techcombank, TPBank, and Sacombank also recorded decreases in customer deposit balances ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of billions of VND.

More notably, data from the State Bank of Vietnam shows that over 2 trillion VND in deposits from economic organizations have been withdrawn from the banking system since October 2025 and there are still no signs of them returning. As of the end of the first quarter, deposits from economic organizations amounted to only about 6 trillion VND, nearly 4 trillion VND less than deposits from individual customers.

This is considered quite unusual compared to recent years, when the scale of deposits from businesses and individuals usually remained relatively balanced. The widening gap between the two deposit groups indicates significant changes in the flow of funds within the business sector.

In its report, SHS Securities Company pointed out that a particularly important factor causing cash to flow out of banks is the change in tax policy.

Instead of making efforts to adapt, some businesses and small traders are circumventing the law by "only accepting cash." Many other forms of evasion, such as splitting transactions across multiple accounts, pretending to make erroneous transfers, and then conducting cash transactions, are also becoming more common. These practices are negatively impacting financial transparency, undermining the digital economy development strategy, and creating "dark areas" for fraud and tax revenue losses for the State.

The surge in cash outside the banking system is having a direct impact on bank liquidity, particularly on access to cheap funding.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/giao-dich-tien-mat-bat-ngo-tang-tro-lai-post1847837.tpo