'Wave card, swipe phone' payment has come to Vietnam

Contactless electronic payments such as waving cards or swiping phones are gaining traction in Vietnam.

In the second half of September, 5,000 customers who are domestic ATM cardholders of 6 banks including VietinBank, Vietcombank, BIDV, Sacombank, Shinhan Vietnam Bank and ABBank started to test the Samsung Pay solution. This is a contactless payment method at POS machines.

Specifically, users register their card information with the application on their phone. When they need to pay, they just need to place their phone next to the POS machine without touching the machine to pay.

Previously, in early July, another type of contactless payment, which is waving a card in front of a POS screen, also appeared in Vietnam. The first unit to implement it was Sacombank, applying it to international payment cards. This payment technology is called Visa payWave, after the bank's cooperation with Visa since the beginning of the year.

The new generation of cards, which can be waved in front of POS machines for payment, is equipped with a chip containing a tiny antenna to transmit information to and from the card reader. Another convenient aspect of this solution is the policy of not requiring signature and PIN code entry in case of transactions under one million VND. Currently, several retail chains such as Big C, Citimart, Nguyen Kim are ready to accept payment by waving cards.

There are 1,000 locations in Vietnam that accept card-waving payments without swiping.

Following Sacombank, VietinBank also confirmed that it is preparing to launch a co-branded card with Saigon Co.op using wave technology to pay, instead of having to swipe or insert the card into the chip reader as before. Mr. Sean Preson - Director of Visa in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos admitted that contactless payment solutions are still very new in Vietnam but will be popular in all banks in just a few years.

“Contactless payment is still very new in Vietnam, with one bank already implementing it and another preparing. Currently, there are about 1,000 locations that can accept cards using payWave technology. However, I predict that in just a few years, all banks will issue this type of card,” the CEO predicted.

The results of two studies by Visa in collaboration with YouGov and Toluna respectively show that Vietnamese consumers are now open to new payment methods. Up to 9 out of 10 people are willing to try new payment methods, with 88% saying they are very likely to use their smartphones to pay.

In addition, 83% of respondents said they would choose contactless payments if available instead of cash. More notably, the older generation of consumers is just as enthusiastic about new technology as the younger generation.

Visa’s recently released data also shows that electronic payments continue to be the top choice of Vietnamese consumers. As of the end of June this year, the rate of electronic payment transactions had increased by 38% compared to the same period last year.

Visa credit and debit card transactions increased by 49% and 34% respectively. Meanwhile, the total transaction value increased by 35%. More and more Vietnamese people are participating in online shopping. Accordingly, Visa e-commerce transactions increased by 82% in number and 45% in transaction value.

“These figures are truly a positive signal for the Vietnamese economy, in the context of the country transforming to create a more favorable environment for both consumers and businesses, through the electronicization of payment methods.

“One of the great signs we’ve seen is the strong growth in credit and debit cards. This is a clear indication that we have a large customer base with diverse demographics who are using electronic payments for a variety of purposes,” added Sean Preston.

According to VNE