The era of QR code payments from remote areas to cross-border

On February 16 (January 7), before going to Ho Chi Minh City to work, Ms. Hoang Van (residing in Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province) decided to open a bank account for her mother through electronic identification (eKYC) and then create a QR payment code for the convenience of transferring money and paying for services in her hometown.

"I will print QR codes for my mother who sells groceries at the commune market, so that anyone who needs to buy things but doesn't have cash can transfer money and scan QR codes for convenience. When I returned to my hometown during Tet, I realized that cashless payments are now popular in remote areas. When I went to the district market, I saw that every store had QR codes for customers to pay," said Ms. Van.

A self-checkout booth, customers will buy goods and scan the QR code to transfer money to the booth owner, instead of paying cash or having staff directly sell goods. Photo taken at the 2024 year-end festival at an apartment building in Thu Duc City (HCMC)

The trend of cashless payments is becoming more and more popular with the explosion of QR codes. The State Bank said that the cashless payment indicators will grow positively in 2023. The number of cashless payment transactions will increase from 50 - 99%, the value will increase from 5.4 - 10.8% depending on the payment method...

Notably, QR code payments have developed across borders with strong progress in recent times. The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) said it has coordinated with member organizations and partners to promote the development of national retail payment infrastructure, providing domestic and international financial switching services through QR codes, cards, accounts, e-wallets, Mobile Money; connecting cross-border payments...

NAPAS has officially launched the QR code payment service connecting Vietnam and Cambodia, continuing to expand the scope of use of Vietnamese payment products and services abroad, supporting trade activities, trade promotion, and tourism between countries.

QR codes allow tourists to make cross-border payments between Vietnam and Thailand, which have been deployed by some banks such as VietinBank, Sacombank , BVBank... in recent times.

Most recently, VietinBank said that from the Lunar New Year 2024, Vietnamese tourists traveling in Thailand can make cross-border payments using QR Pay codes, making it easy to spend and shop in Thailand.

Sacombank also deployed cross-border QR code scanning in Cambodia, helping customers traveling or working in the land of pagodas to use the Sacombank Pay application to pay for services and goods.

Customers do not need to carry out any procedures or documents for foreign currency trading, but can still easily pay in Thai Baht or Cambodian Riel from their VND account at a commercial bank with the exchange rate at the time of payment.

Street vendors can also easily scan QR codes. Photo: Napas

Currently, NAPAS and Lao National Payment Network Company Limited (LAPNET) have signed a cooperation agreement on research and pilot implementation of bilateral retail payment connection using QR codes between Vietnam and Laos.

In Southeast Asia alone, NAPAS has implemented cross-border payment cooperation with Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

There is still room for "rapid" growth with QR codes

Observing the Vietnamese payment industry, Payoo experts believe that QR codes still have many opportunities to explode further. Looking at the Indian market, QR code payments via UPI (unified payment interface) are used by more than 300 million users and accepted at more than 50 million retail stores, from roadside shops to high-end shopping malls.

In March 2023, statistics from the UPI watchdog in India showed that more than 8.65 billion transactions worth more than $170 billion were made. The digital payment revolution in India has helped reduce cash by 86%.

"If compared linearly with Vietnam, the QR payment transaction volume of this South Asian country is 40 times higher. This is one of the reasons Payoo assesses that QR payment in Vietnam still has many opportunities for rapid development in the future" - said a Payoo representative.

People go to see a doctor, scan QR code to pay at Children's Hospital 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Cashless payment at hospitals is becoming more and more popular, creating convenience for people.

A souvenir shop in Hue City, visitors can pay cash or scan QR codes placed in front of souvenir products.

A grocery store in Lang Son was instructed by bank staff to use QR codes, facilitating payment and purchase of goods and services.

Many people working in Ho Chi Minh City who returned to their hometowns during Tet said they were surprised by the popularity of cashless payments. Mr. Ngoc Duong (living in Ha Tinh province) said that when going to have breakfast or coffee in his district, he also scans QR codes or transfers money. If a shop does not have this service, he will... hesitate to come next time because he rarely carries cash in his wallet like before. In the photo, a popular sweet soup shop in the market area of ​​Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh province, customers pay by QR code.

A restaurant in Vinh Long accepts payment by QR code. Cashless payment is popular in many regions, including remote areas; from street vendors to delivery, grocery stores, night markets...

A restaurant in Quang Ngai city accepts payment by QR code

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-cua-thanh-toan-qua-ma-qr-tu-vung-sau-vung-xa-den-xuyen-bien-gioi-196240216180953283.htm