A stronger push for e-payment would not only boost liquidity in the economy, prevent money laundering and corruption, but also promote the internet economy, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the forum. Source: VGP.

Vietnam must grasp opportunities from the internet economy, which is estimated at a combined of US$100 billion in Southeast Asia, and is on track to increase by three-fold in the next five years, Dam said at a forum discussing the development of e-payment ecosystem in Vietnam on December 10.

Statistics from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, revealed that as of September 30, transaction value via points of sales (PoS) increased 36.5% year-on-year, while the number of bank cards hit 96.4 million and the number of ATM machines 19,000.

These are considered a solid foundation for greater use of e-payment methods, such as mobile banking or internet banking. However, there remain challenges for a transition from swipe cards to chip cards in Vietnam, stated the SBV, adding one of the main reasons is the huge investment cost.

Nevertheless, Vietnamese banks are determined to turn to chip cards, in turn synchronizing payments for various services such as education, healthcare, or insurance, among others.

As of present, over 20 banks and six companies in Vietnam are providing chip cards. By the end of the first quarter in 2020, such figures are expected to increase to 26 banks and 10 companies.

SBV Vice Governor Nguyen Kim Anh said e-payment towards a cashless society is an inevitable trend in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, creating multiple impacts of boosting economic growth and inclusive financial strategy through wider access of banking – finance services to the public.

The SBV targets more legal support for banks and payments using high technologies, particularly digital banking and payments, said Anh.

Deputy PM Dam said the use of IT would help improve state management in a more transparent and efficient manner, while encouraging the participation of the people into social management activities.

According to Dam, the ultimate goal of e-payment is to create chances for the people to further involve in the banking sector. Moreover, this also ensures higher level of safety and privacy of customers’ information.

The government has instructed the sectors of taxation, insurance, telecommunications, and electricity to apply non-cash payment while education and healthcare are scheduled to apply the method before 2020, stated Dam.