The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has directed credit institutions to reduce some transaction fees from August 1 this year to support customers amid the outbreak of the latest COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, fees of automatic teller machines (ATM), point of sale (POS) and interbank transactions via the SBV’s National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) will be cut from 50-75 per cent from August 1 to the end of this year.

The move was made after NAPAS announced a reduction of 50-75 per cent on its service fees on electronic switching for credit institutions which means that the profits of financial institutions will not be affected by the cut. However, SBV also expects credit institutions to make a bigger reduction for their customers than that of NAPAS.

This is the second fee reduction from NAPAS this year. The firm last year also made another three fee cuts totalling VND530 billion.

NAPAS’s move is aimed at helping to develop local cashless payment systems and promote the Government's plan to encourage electronic payments for public services during the pandemic.

Nguyen Dang Hung, deputy general director of NAPAS, said the reduction could contribute effectively to the banking system, enterprises and especially people during the pandemic.

This is the time for cashless payments and NAPAS and the local banks should take responsibility by sharing free services with customers, Hung said.

He expected the increase in cashless transactions would not only change consumer habits but also help government agencies reduce management and operation costs.

Established in 2004 by the Viet Nam National Financial Switching Joint Stock Company (Banknetvn), NAPAS has become the foundation of the national retail payment infrastructure.

The firm is administering and operating a switching system interconnected with more than 18,600 ATMs, 261,000 POS machines and 300 electronic payment companies. These are in the fields of aviation, telecommunications, hotels and tourism, and serve over 100 million cardholders from 48 domestic and international commercial banks operating in Viet Nam. — VNS