Vietnam reports surge in contactless payments usage

According to Vietnam Plus, as banks launched more options for customers to go cashless, contactless payments began to be the preferred payment method among Vietnam-based users. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic also appears to have further encouraged people to adopt contactless payments due to increasing concerns about social distancing measures.

Furthermore, data from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) unveiled a 26.2% increase in domestic banking transactions in the first four months of 2020, with value rising by 15%. Besides, mobile payments also surged by 189% in number and 166% in value, compared to 2019. Additionally, the latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study revealed that 37% of respondents were using contactless payment cards, while 42% of them made mobile contactless payments. 

Also, of those who already used contactless payment methods, 85% were doing so at least once a week, while four out of five consumers, who have not used contactless payments, were interested in doing so, and more than 80% were interested in biometric authentication technology.

Moreover, domestic banks have adopted these technologies to shift their cards into contactless smart cards, such as Techcombank, BIDV, Vietcombank, Kienlongbank and TPBank, among others. Therefore, TPBank, Vietinbank, and Sacombank enable cash withdrawals using a QR Code at their ATMs, while customers can scan their fingerprints to receive cash at either the ATMs or transaction offices of Eximbank and VietBank without a debit card, an ID card, or a passport. In addition, VietCapitalBank has worked with e-wallets such as ZaloPay and AirPay to allow its cardholders to make cashless payments at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Circle K, and others.