The State Bank of Viet Nam has issued a plan to develop card payment using card readers at points of sale (POS) and mobile points of sale (mPOS) from 2017 to 2020.

The plan is aimed at boosting the non-cash payment in Viet Nam, as approved in Decision 2545/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2016, by the Prime Minister.

Accordingly, the ratio of cash to total payment instruments will be below 10 per cent by the end of 2020.

The plan sets a target of gradually increasing the number and value of card payment transactions using card readers. By 2020, the whole market will have over 300,000 card readers installed at POS to process around 200 million transactions per year.

E-payment in e-commerce will be also promoted to achieve the targets of having 100 per cent modern supermarkets, shopping malls and distribution centres installed with card readers by 2020, which would enable consumers to make non-cash payments when purchasing goods.

By 2020, 70 per cent of electricity, water, telecommunications and communications service providers will accept non-cash payment of charges, while 50 per cent of individuals and households in major cities will use non-cash payment instruments in their shopping and consuming activities.

The percentage of people aged over 15 years having bank accounts will be also targeted to increase to at least 70 per cent by the end of 2020. — VNS