The number of cashless transactions increased more than five times in the first half of 2020 against the same period last year, while the total value of contactless transactions soared six times over the first half of 2019, according to the latest report by Visa.

The total value of contactless transactions increased more six times in 1H against 1H, 2019. Photo: Tinhte.vn

At the end of June, the number of Visa cards that had recorded at least one contactless transaction within the past three months grew more than three times compared to June 2019.

Findings from the recent Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study showed 37% of Vietnamese consumers are now using contactless payments, while 42% are currently paying through mobile, of those, 85% said that they make contactless payment at least once a week.

Contactless payment methods have already been introduced at some of the biggest retailers, restaurant chains and movie houses, including Lotte Mart, The Pizza Company and BHD, with promotional campaigns that seek to drive up and popularize contactless payments.

Half of all Visa transactions at Starbucks Vietnam, one of the leading food & beverage chains, are now contactless. Similarly, Saigon Co-op has partnered with Visa to offer a range of exciting prizes to cardholders using this payment technology at their outlets.

A research conducted from June 19 to June 23 by Kantar showed that 68% of Vietnamese consumers prefer paying by cards or via mobile apps instead of cash, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this context, Shopee and JCB recently announced a regional agreement, taking effect from July in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, and later Singapore and the Philippines. JCB will offer annual discounts and seasonal promotions for Shopee users, while this e-commerce platform will encourage its stores to take part in JCB’s programs.

According to Terence Pang, CEO of Shopee, the partnership aims to meet the diversity of user habits and preferences, including cashless payments in the new normal after Covid-19.

Earlier, Vinasun, a taxi business, also launched a VNS Prepaid service, of which customers can top up from Payoo or its banking partners, e-wallets, and convenience stores for paying taxi fares. 

“It is expected that in the second phase, in addition to paying directly through the Vinasun application, customers can also top up or pay taxi fares directly from MoMo, ZaloPay”, said Ta Long Hy, deputy general director of Vinasun Taxi said.