Due to COVID-19, more than 80 per cent of people now use their debit/credit cards, QR payments and mobile wallets at least once a week.

Visa's latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study shows Vietnamese consumers are rapidly adopting a range of digital payment methods.

A solid half of all Vietnamese have begun using cards more often, while 64 per cent and 63 per cent have increased their usage of mobile contactless and mobile wallet payments platforms, respectively.

Convenience seems to be the highest-rated factor in consumer preference across digital payment methods, followed by safety from infection and transaction security, said the report.

The study also shows an emphatic shift in payment habits. Sixty-five per cent of Vietnamese are carrying less cash in their wallets, and 32 per cent said they would stop using cash after the pandemic.

This was paralleled by significant gains in cashless payments. Almost 76 per cent of consumers now use mobile wallets, and even more (82 per cent) use cards.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can not be ignored in the short term or the long term. It has resulted in lasting changes in the ways consumers choose to make purchases and how they pay. Success for merchants and businesses rests on their ability to evolve and transform with these changes,” said Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa Country Manager of Viet Nam and Laos.

Online shopping and cash alternatives are all likely to stay after the pandemic. Two-thirds of Vietnamese tried shopping online during the pandemic, and half of them made their first purchase through social media.

Nine out of ten consumers are now using home delivery, and almost all of them use it more often than before the pandemic.

After the pandemic, consumers are most eager to spend on travel, especially domestically (25 per cent). The surge of desire in Vietnamese consumers to travel is driven by a reconnection with travel as consumers yearn to reunite with family and friends after a long time apart. — VNS