Customers take instant photos at Papas's showroom - Photo: DUYEN PHAN
Mr. Nguyen Hung Nguyen - Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Payment Joint Stock Company (NAPAS) said the above at the Workshop "Cashless Payment: Driving Force for Digital Economic Growth" officially taking place on June 14.
The workshop attracted 300 leaders of state agencies, economic experts, delegates... to participate, and is an event within the series of activities "Cashless Day 2025" taking place in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese transactions have approached Thailand and India
According to Mr. Nguyen, in the first quarter, Vietnamese people made 5.5 billion cashless transactions, of which 4.5 billion were on digital channels with a value of 40 million billion VND.
“We are seeing a shift in cashless payment behavior in society,” he said.
The scale of Vietnam's digital economy has grown strongly in recent years, of which e-commerce contributes more than 60%. For example, in 2024, it reached 36 billion USD, in 2025 it is forecasted to reach 57 billion USD. E-commerce alone will reach 22 billion USD in 2024, of which 90% of transactions are paid electronically including QR, e-wallets, etc.
Mr. Nguyen Hung Nguyen - Deputy General Director of Napas presented a paper on the role of digital payments as a catalyst in economic development - Photo: QUANG DINH
Regarding the impact of digital payments on the economy, Mr. Nguyen said that the benefits are very clear. That is, it helps make payments quickly and reduces operating costs. At the same time, digital payments also contribute to transparency, optimize cash flow when tracing in real time, support tax management, etc.
Sharing about NAPAS and the digital ecosystem, the deputy general director of NAPAS said that payment transactions via NAPAS have increased sharply. In 2024, NAPAS processed 9.56 billion transactions, an increase of approximately 30% in the number of transactions and more than 14.4% in transaction value compared to 2023.
"According to the State Bank of Vietnam, in the first quarter alone, Vietnamese people made 5.5 billion cashless transactions, of which 4.5 billion were on digital channels with a value of VND40 million billion. This is an extremely impressive number. Vietnam's average transaction per capita is approaching that of Thailand and India and only slightly behind China," Mr. Nguyen commented.
Where does the motivation for digital payments come from? The Deputy General Director of NAPAS believes that it is a new lifestyle in the digital environment, meaning that people have the need to share, experience services and have all their needs met in the digital environment.
Nowadays, we can perform services such aseducation , public services, transportation, shopping, etc. all in the digital environment. Thereby, creating momentum for the development of the digital economy. The digital economy creates momentum for the development of digital payments.
The biggest task for digital payments is to optimize the user experience when using digital services.
According to statistics from the banking industry, the country currently has more than 200 million bank accounts in circulation. About 1/5 of these accounts regularly conduct digital transactions, with about 40 million cards regularly conducting digital transactions across all channels.
Achieving this success requires the preparation and cooperation of NAPAS with banks, payment intermediaries, and foreign partners to build a payment network, accept payments, and issue with standards and good service quality among the top in the world .
"Vietnam has a very modern payment system, especially account-to-account payments, which are among the top 5-7 in the world," Mr. Nguyen emphasized.
To promote cashless payments, for users, NAPAS provides convenient payment services such as NAPAS 247 instant money transfer; VietQRPay and VietQR Global solutions: payment from cards, bank accounts/e-wallets can be made domestically and cross-border.
In addition, NAPAS provides contactless payment solutions such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay... for quick and secure payment.
NAPAS provides online public service payment solutions on the national public service portal, VNeID helps pay public service fees online, safely and conveniently.
The latest is the smart transportation payment solution for metro. With cards, Apple Pay, QR, passengers can use to pay without having to buy tickets, train cards, very convenient and fast.
For businesses, NAPAS also provides diverse payment solutions such as payment gateways supporting e-commerce; collection and payment services to help pay bills automatically and periodically.
Vietnam makes a breakthrough in cashless payments
Mr. Sapan Shah - Senior Vice President, in charge of payment acceptance network - Asia - Pacific Region (Mastercard) - Photo: QUANG DINH
Mr. Sapan Shah - Senior Vice President, Payment Acceptance Network - Asia - Pacific Region (Mastercard) opened the sharing at the conference.
According to Mr. Sapan Shah, the breakthrough is reflected in the clear shift in payment methods. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of total contactless transactions (Q4-2022 to Q4-2024) reached 92%.
Thanks to convenience, Apple Pay/Google Pay, and open-loop public transportation, 60% of point-of-sale transactions are made via cashless payment methods, including e-wallets and payment cards.
In parallel, there is the combination of modern technology. Tap to Pay / Tap to Phone - allowing fast, safe and cost-effective contactless payments. Or Tokenization - protecting user information when transacting online and offline.
Notably, there are also a series of strategic partnerships in that journey. The Government plays a leading role in promoting cashless payments across the national financial ecosystem. Businesses closely coordinate between banks, e-wallets, fintech companies (financial technology) and international payment networks.
Mr. Sapan Shah shared that in that context, Mastercard quickly cooperated with many banks, financial institutions, state agencies... to implement initiatives suitable for Vietnamese people, promoting new payment behaviors.
Notably, the Tap to Pay solution links directly to bank accounts, allowing seamless and convenient contactless payments via payment accounts (CASA) on digital banking applications. Transactions are made using tokens instead of using real account numbers, enhancing security and minimizing the risk of fraud.
Cashless payment at Metro Line 1 - Ho Chi Minh City. Open-loop payment system helps people pay more easily and conveniently. Promote cashless payment, reduce dependence on cash. Create a seamless, familiar payment & travel experience for international visitors to Vietnam.
Expanding cross-border payment capabilities
Mr. Sapan Shah said that in the context of integration and promoting the strength of an open economy, the company has signed memorandums of understanding with key parties to expand cross-border payment capabilities.
A typical example is the signing of a memorandum of understanding with NAPAS, introducing the first co-branded card in Vietnam. As of last month, the card has been issued by the first 6 banks: Agribank, BIDV, TPBank, Nam A Bank, PVcomBank and Vikki Bank.
With the Mastercard - NAPAS co-branded card, users can easily pay both domestically and internationally, connecting with more than 650,000 acceptance points in Vietnam and 150 acceptance points globally.
Not stopping there, Mastercard Pay Local is also operating, providing a solution to help international travelers pay by card via local e-wallets when traveling across Asia.
This expands merchants’ reach to the billions of Mastercard cardholders worldwide. No additional infrastructure investment required – merchants do not need to change their systems to accept payments. Increases the number of new customers for e-wallet providers.
"Tourists no longer have to worry about exchanging foreign currency or carrying cash, and can easily spend like locals," said Mr. Sapan Shah.
This solution is in cooperation with many leading e-wallet partners in the Asia region such as Alipay (China), WeChat Pay (China), Dana (Indonesia), Touch'n Go (Malaysia) and LankaPay (Sri Lanka).
Safe, secure, convenient with VISA
Ms. Dang Tuyet Dung - Director of Visa Vietnam and Laos - Photo: QUANG DINH
As a multinational financial corporation providing electronic payment services worldwide, Ms. Dang Tuyet Dung - VISA's country director in Vietnam and Laos - said that VISA's strategic goal is to become a safe and reliable method for the pillars: people - businesses - Government.
Accordingly, for public services, Ms. Tuyet Dung recognized that Vietnam has many opportunities and great potential in developing cashless payments. Especially in the context of more than 10 million people having completed biometrics, increasing security and convenience when making online payments.
During its development journey, the group has implemented more than 5,000 projects in many countries, linking citizens' electronic identification with VISA identification codes.
From there, the main outstanding benefits include: helping people to use their own electronic identity wallet connected to VISA for global transactions, the Government to conveniently disburse funds to support people, and at the same time easily collect fees for administrative services quickly and safely.
For example, in Vietnam, passengers on metro line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien in Ho Chi Minh City) can make contactless payments at the ticket gate using Visa cards, mobile devices or smart wearables...
Ms. Dung emphasized that another extremely important factor that the unit focuses on is promoting a comprehensive digital financial system, creating conditions for all people to have the fastest and most convenient payment tools. Many Vietnamese people can make domestic and global payments, connecting domestic e-wallets with the world...
In particular, VISA is also interested in promoting the business activities of small and medium enterprises. Small traders can access and accept online and offline card payments in a simple way, stimulating consumption. To enhance the digital experience and digital technology, the unit also helps customers pay for goods and services with one touch via VISA cards.
Click to Pay solution launched in Vietnam, providing a seamless online shopping experience for Visa cardholders of multiple banks when paying at participating retail partners.
Exciting Event Series Cashless Day 2025
Cashless Day 2025 with the theme "Cashless payment promotes digital economy". The series of events is held in the final year of implementing the Project on developing cashless payment for the period 2021-2025 according to the Prime Minister's decision.
The program is organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper, Payment Department, Banking Times of the State Bank in coordination with the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, National Payment Joint Stock Company (Napas) with the participation of VPBank, HDBank, Mastercard, Visa, Sacombank, Vietcombank, ACB, BIDV, Vikki, JCB, MoMo, Saigon Co.op, Vingroup Corporation - Joint Stock Company, Eximbank, Agribank, SHB, TPBank, KienlongBank, MB Bank, Vietinbank, TikTok Shop, Can Gio Island Bird's Nest, Phamarcity Pharmacy, UEL University of Economics and Law, Satra, Ho Chi Minh City Electricity Corporation, Loreal, KAFI, VIB, BVBank, UOB, LC Foods, Tefal, Phat Tai Investment and Culinary Joint Stock Company, Onelife Company Limited.
The program aims to raise social awareness, encourage people to access and use modern payment methods such as e-wallets, QR codes, contactless cards, etc., and contribute to building a sustainable cashless ecosystem in Vietnam.
One of the highlights of this year's event series is the "Ting Ting Day" festival, taking place from 7:30 a.m. on June 14 to 9 p.m. on June 15 at Nguyen Hue walking street, offering a series of experiences on payment technology, mini games, workshops on spending management, modern lifestyle...
In particular, a highly anticipated activity is the E-Concert with a star-studded lineup and two large promotional programs including a nationwide promotion program and a Shopping Season promotion program in Ho Chi Minh City.
Within the framework of the program, there was also a workshop on "Cashless Payment: Driving Force for Digital Economic Growth" with the participation of nearly 300 delegates.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-nam-trong-top-dau-the-gioi-ve-thanh-toan-tu-tai-khoan-qua-tai-khoan-20250614105923755.htm
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