When Vietnam has a 'cashless city'

Each year, the “cashless city” could earn an additional $600 million if most transactions were electronic, replacing cash.

This is the result of an independent study by Roubini Thought Lab commissioned by Visa to conduct on 100 cities around the world on the economic impacts of increasing the use of electronic payment methods in major cities. Accordingly, Hanoi is one of the cities included in the above research.

According to the official results released by Visa from this study, it is estimated that increasing the application of electronic payments, such as card payments and mobile payments, could bring net benefits of up to 470 billion USD per year to the 100 cities surveyed - equivalent to 3% of the average GDP of these cities.

Cashless payments will boost economic growth.

Hanoi, one of the 100 cities included in the study, has seen promising progress in reducing cash usage. The study found that the city could earn an additional $600 million a year if most transactions were electronic, replacing cash. Employment could increase by 3.5 percent, and the city’s GDP is expected to increase by 36.4 basis points.

“Cashless Cities: Realizing the Benefits of Digital Payments” is a unique study that quantifies the potential net benefits of a city achieving “viable cashlessness,” where the entire city population switches to digital payments at a rate equivalent to the top 10% of users in that city today.

The study is not intended to eliminate cash, but rather to quantify the potential benefits and costs of a significant increase in electronic payments. Accordingly, by reducing the reliance on cash, the study estimates the long- and medium-term benefits for three main groups: consumers, businesses and governments.

"Cashless cities" will profit hundreds of billions of dollars thanks to saving time, processing steps...

“This study demonstrates that consumers, businesses and governments benefit when cities increasingly adopt digital payments,” said Ellen Richey, vice president and chief risk officer at Visa. “As a result, society can reap benefits from replacing cash with digital payments, including faster economic growth, lower crime rates, increased employment, wages and productivity.”

“Although Vietnam is still a cash-based society, we see that all sectors of the economy, from consumers, retailers to the government, have a more positive attitude towards electronic payments than ever before,” added Sean Preston, Visa Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

According to Mr. Sean Preaton, Visa has always actively supported the State Bank of Vietnam in its roadmap towards cashless payments before 2020. "We are committed to promoting electronic payment applications and expanding the payment acceptance network, ensuring the transition to a cashless society is smooth and effective," Mr. Sean Preaton emphasized...

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper