Go out with confidence even without carrying cash

On a weekend morning, Ms. Ha Thi Phuong and her friends in the neighborhood went to exercise around Linh Dam peninsula (Hoang Mai, Hanoi ). On the way back, they suddenly came across a lotus flower stall. It was the lotus blooming season, so it was beautiful and cheap, only 20,000 VND/bunch.

Although no one brought cash, Ms. Phuong and her friends still confidently rushed into the flower shop. After each person chose the lotus bouquets they liked best, they just took their phones out of their pockets and scanned the QR code to transfer money to the flower seller.

Cashless payments have now become familiar to both sellers and buyers, with all kinds of goods from high-end to the most popular, such as bouquets of flowers or bunches of vegetables sold on the sidewalk.

“In the past, going out without cash was not a confident thing. But now, all you need to do is bring your phone and all your payment needs for goods and services will be met quickly. When eating out at a restaurant, or even going to the market to buy vegetables, you can transfer money to the seller. There is also no need to ask for an account number because everyone who sells goods at the market has a QR code for customers to scan,” said Ms. Ha Thi Phuong.

At a sidewalk tea shop on Tran Duy Hung Street, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha – the owner of the tea shop – also printed a QR code of her account number so that customers could scan the code. This change, though small, shows a huge step forward in the trend of people paying without cash, in every corner of life, from a glass of iced tea, a baked potato, to other high-end services.

A VND3,000 glass of iced tea can also be paid for via bank transfer on the sidewalk in Hanoi. (Photo: NT).

“A glass of iced tea costs only 3,000 VND, and every time a customer gives me a fixed amount, I can’t find enough money to pay them. So since 2022, I have been using this QR code for customers to pay. Since then, I no longer have to worry about not having enough money to pay back customers, both sides find it convenient,” said Ms. Ha.

The above changes show that many banking services can be performed entirely on digital channels with simple and quick processes and procedures. Many banking products and services are designed to suit people of all classes, including those in rural, remote and isolated areas.

At the workshop “Data connection, smart payment – promoting social development”, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Pham Tien Dung said that the percentage of adults with payment accounts at banks is about 74.63%.

The annual growth rate of mobile payments and QR codes has reached over 100%. Many indicators have reached and exceeded the targets set in the industry's digital transformation plan.

The State Bank representative also said that non-cash payment indicators increased in terms of quantity and transaction value.

In the first 4 months of 2023, non-cash payment transactions increased by 52.8% in quantity; via the Internet channel increased by 83.76% in quantity and 2.83% in value, via mobile phone channels increased by 64.84% and 9.47% respectively; via QR code method increased by 161.6% and 36.62%; via POS increased by 33.98% and 29.15%; via ATM decreased by 3.49% in quantity and 5.45% in value.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam, said that in the coming time, the State Bank of Vietnam will continue to coordinate and connect with national databases on population, allowing credit institutions to verify customer identification information, clean data and support customers in credit granting services for small personal loans.

Notably, the work of ensuring the security and safety of information technology systems and protecting the legitimate rights of customers will also be enhanced to promptly prevent intentional attacks on the banking system.

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