Cashless payment makes waves

	Cashless payments are here to stay
	Project on cashless payment development for 2021-25 approved

The incentives by payment service providers are also one of the catalysts to attract users to use cashless payment methods. Photo: TL

Rapid growth

Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) has recently deployed the Facepay feature that allows customers to pay by facial recognition, no cash, no bank card, and no phone. This is considered one of the high-security payment methods, avoiding fraud and can be done easily and quickly.

In a recently published report, electronic payment technology company Visa has presented figures showing the impressive development of cashless payments in Vietnam. Specifically, up to 65% of Vietnamese consumers carry less cash in their wallets and 32% say they will stop using cash after the pandemic. In which, nearly 76% of current consumers use e-wallets and the percentage of card users is even higher (82%).

Due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 80% of consumers are now using cards, paying via QR codes and e-wallets at least once a week. Meanwhile, half of Vietnamese users have chosen cards more often, while 64% and 63% of users have shown more interest in contactless payments via mobile phones and e-wallets. Convenience is always at the forefront of consumer preference for digital payment methods, followed by infection safety and transaction security.

Visa's report is also similar to the transaction data via Payoo payment platform when electronic payment methods all have good growth in many areas such as supermarkets, convenience stores, electronics, F&B, health, beauty, education and touris in 2021 and the first months of 2022.

Specifically, online payments fired on all cylinders in 2021 in most fields, especially in the education segment with an online growth rate of 10 times higher. The Covid-19 pandemic also changes people's shopping habits. In the past, people were hesitant to buy goods online or only buy with small value. However, online purchases have grown rapidly and the average value of each order has also increased by 20% compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Since the beginning of 2022, thanks to successful pandemic control along with people’s readiness for shopping and travel most industries have bounced back. In particular, since mid-March, thanks to policies to stimulate tourism demand, the group of tourism and catering services has seen remarkable growth.

The average revenue of the first quarter of 2022 of the tourism segment was 4.2 times higher than the previous quarter and 12 times higher than the time during the pandemic (from May to October 2021). The tourism segment at the beginning of this year also had revenue growth of 50% year on year, mainly in the group of airline tickets and hotels. For the F&B industry, the revenue of the first quarter of 2022 increased by one and a half times compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, and the transaction volume increased by 24%. The revenue figures at the beginning of the second quarter also increased by nearly 40% compared to the same period in the first quarter of 2022 and doubled compared to the same period in the fourth quarter of 2021.

At OCB, a bank representative said that the use of OCB OMNI digital bank and online channels for payment at OCB accounts for 95% of transactions on the total channels of OCB (including communication channels at the counter) and compared to the same period last year, the transaction volume through OCB OMNI has grown by nearly 80%.

Expanding to markets, grocery stores

Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa Director for Vietnam and Laos, said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be ignored, both in the short and long term as these impacts lead to lasting changes in consumers' choices of purchasing and payment methods.

The success of digital payment acceptors and businesses depends on their ability to innovate and transform to adapt to these changes. In fact, besides investment in technology, banks and payment service providers have also implemented many incentive programs to encourage and attract users to experience non-cash payments. For example, at OCB, the bank has maintained a preferential policy of free money transfer fees, payment fees, registration fees for using advanced authentication methods, etc. on OCB OMNI since 2018. There are also ongoing promotions such as phone recharge cashback, bill payment incentives, etc.

Similarly, Payoo also cooperates with Mastercard and retail partners such as AEON MALL, convenience stores, electronics such as FamilyMart, B's mart, Mobile Viet, F&B partners such as Grove Fresh, Califresh, Highlands, Jollibee to organize promotions up to 15% of the order value for contactless payment methods to promote and encourage the habit of electronic payments, and at the same time support pandemic-hit retail businesses and F&B.

According to Visa, online shopping and cash alternatives will be favored post-pandemic. Two-thirds of Vietnamese users have tried online shopping during the pandemic, and a quarter of users have tried their hand at buying through a social media platform for the first time. Nine out of 10 consumers are now using home delivery, and almost all are using it more often than in pre-pandemic times.

The OCB representative also forecasts that the growth momentum of cashless payments and especially the reduction of traditional payments will continue to grow. It is expected to focus on developing in consumer sectors such as stores, grocery retail, eateries, and traditional markets.

Currently, OCB is also in the research and development process to deploy new payment solutions to these segments in 2022.

According to a Payoo representative, despite the impressive growth in the past two years, the payment market in Vietnam is still in its infancy. With a size of 90 million people and a huge number of cash payment transactions, the room for e-payment to develop is very abundant. All sectors benefit from opportunities for e-payment, but areas, where people are used to traditional payment methods, can make more breakthroughs such as education, health care, public services, etc.

Vietnamese consumers prefer using cashless payments The total value of cashless transactions jumped six times in the first half this year against the ...