Flexible wage payments for workers during Tet holiday.
(Baonghean.vn) - During holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the demand for cash withdrawals via ATMs usually increases sharply compared to normal days, putting great pressure on and leading to overload of this service. Therefore, flexibility in salary payment, especially for workers in industrial zones, is an issue that needs to be addressed.
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| There are currently 256 ATMs in Nghe An province. Photo: Viet Phuong |
Alongside service development, banks in Nghe An province are continuing to invest in and develop their ATM/POS networks to serve the increasing payment transaction needs of customers. In particular, they are expanding cashless payments through the deployment of electronic banking services and the installation and connection of additional ATMs and POS terminals throughout the province.
In Nghe An province, there are currently 256 ATMs, 1,046 POS terminals, and a total of over 931,000 payment cards. Most state-funded units in Vinh City and the centers of several districts and towns have implemented salary payments via bank accounts.
Although banks have made efforts to install and connect ATMs, due to the widespread habit of using cash among the population, ATM transactions are still primarily cash withdrawals.
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| People lined up to withdraw money in Do Luong town (Photo taken by reporter on the evening of December 12, 2017). Photo: Huu Hoan |
The Lunar New Year holiday is a time when the demand for cash surges as businesses and organizations pay salaries to their employees. Network congestion, ATMs running out of cash, or displaying error messages are common occurrences during peak periods. The key is for business owners to be flexible in paying salaries and bonuses to their workers during the Lunar New Year, avoiding ATM overload and preventing workers from struggling to withdraw cash for holiday expenses.
Regarding this issue, Mr. Cao Van Hoi, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Nghe An branch, stated: In addition to increasing POS payments at shopping malls and supermarkets, and payments for services such as electricity, water, telephone, and insurance, we have instructed commercial banks in industrial zones to use more flexible payment methods such as transferring money through accounting, direct payment, or allowing workers to go to the nearest branch to collect their money... In special cases, ATMs must not be interrupted for more than 4 hours in urban areas and not more than 8 hours in rural areas.In theory, paying salaries via ATMs aims to promote cashless payments, but in reality, this is not yet fully implemented. In industrial zones with a large workforce and a limited number of ATMs, overload is inevitable, especially during holidays when workers withdraw money simultaneously.
"Therefore, businesses should flexibly pay salaries and bonuses to workers in cash during holidays. Workers' lives are still difficult, and holiday bonuses are not much, so timely payment is important for them to cover their living expenses. If the money is kept in a bank account, the bank will receive a balance, but not much, and for a short period, so the social effectiveness of paying workers' salaries via ATM is not high," shared a leader of the State Bank of Vietnam's Nghe An branch.
