The Cashless Day 2021 event is open in Hanoi, with the aim to promote the habit of using non-cash payment as well as stimulate consumer demand.

It also targeted retaining the city’s second position in the national annual E-Commerce Index.

The kickoff ceremony of the event "Cashless Day 2021". HNT Photo

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade hoped that a series of events will attract a large number of people and foster cashless payment when trading and shopping, giving businesses more incentive to promote e-commerce development, she added.

Since the pandemic began, consumers' shopping and payment habits have altered dramatically, according to Dang Tuyet Dung, Country Managef for Visa Vietnam and Laos.

The reasons why customers choose contactless and online payment are convenience, speed, and safety against the complicated pandemic developments. This has encouraged Visa and its network of card issuers and point of sale providers to keep innovating and spreading digital payments to increase the customer experience and bring the country closer to a cashless society, Dung said.

Vu Thi Minh Tu, Director of External Relations at Lazada Vietnam, said the e-commerce platform has seen growth in term of the number using cashless payments to more than 30% per month since April.

“We will continue to work closely with partners to establish new cooperation projects for boosting the development of e-payments and the digital economy”, she said.

Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, Deputy Director of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated this was a significant event not only for the banking sector but also for other industries, such as e-commerce.

Last year, a series of activities known as "Cashless Day" and "Hanoi Promotion Month" drew millions of people to experience and purchase at promotional spots over one month. The event attracted more than 660,000 customers at more than 2,000 promotion points such as Pico and Big C supermarket in the city in two days.

During the two-day event, the total revenue was estimated at more than VND300 billion (US$13.3 million) while the promotional value for consumers reached nearly VND50 billion ($22 million).

Some shopping centers and supermarkets recorded a sharp increase in the number of shoppers and revenue compared to weekdays.

BigC Thang Long supermarket in Cau Giay District saw an rise by 200% in revenue and 220% in visitors. Pico electronics supermarket sales went up by more than 100%, the number of customers increased by 200%.