Inter-bank e-payment turnover hits $3.2 trillion in 2018

Việt Nam had  一 八, 一 七 三 ATMs by the end of September  二0 一 八. - VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Inter-bank electronic payment turnover accelerated to VNĐ 七 三 quadrillion (US$ 三. 二 trillion) in  二0 一 八, equal to  一 三 times the country’s GDP, according to Phạm Tiến Dũng, director of the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV)’s Payment Department.

On average, the inter-bank system handled more than  五 四 四,000 transactions worth more than VNĐ 二 八 九 trillion per day, up  二 五 per cent and  二 四 per cent respectively compared to  二0 一 七.

Dũng attributed the rise to improvements in the country’s non-cash payment infrastructure, which have helped the payments run smoothly and safely.

Banks have also invested significantly in upgrading their automatic teller machine (ATM) and point of sale (POS) networks over the past year. By the end of September last year, there were  一 八, 一 七 三 ATMs and  二 九 四, 五00 POSs nationwide, up  四. 五 per cent and  一 三 per cent over the same period in  二0 一 七.

According to Dũng, the automatic clearing house (ACH) for retail payment transactions is also in the final testing stage before being put into operation this year.

Dũng said bank cards have become popular with local consumers. By the end of September, the number of domestic payment transactions using cards reached nearly  一 六 七 million transactions worth VNĐ 四 四 二 trillion, up  二 一 per cent compared to the same period in  二0 一 七.

The central bank said increasing the rate of non-cash payment would be one of its top priorities in  二0 一 九, adding that it would continue fine-tuning the legal framework to limit cash payments in the country in line with international rules.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has directed the banking sector to take the lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution by embracing e-payment in  二0 一 九, a move that would boost the whole economy.

To boost non-cash payment, the Prime Minister has also approved a decision that aims to bring the ratio of cash to total payment instruments to less than  一0 per cent by the end of  二0 二0.

Under the decision, e-co妹妹erce will be promoted and all supermarkets, shopping malls and distribution centres will be modernised with card readers by  二0 二0.

By  二0 二0,  七0 per cent of electricity, water, teleco妹妹unications and co妹妹unications service providers must also accept non-cash payments of charges, while  五0 per cent of individuals and households in major cities will use cashless payment instruments for their shopping and consumption activities.

The percentage of people more than  一 五 years old holding a bank account will also be increased to at least  七0 per cent by the end of  二0 二0. — VNS