The Government has set itself a target of collecting 80 percent of tax payments in cities through banks and enabling treasuries in all provinces and cities to have cashless payment systems by 2020.

This has been announced in the Prime Minister’s Decision No 241/QD-TTg on fostering non-cash payments for public services like water and electricity and transactions related to social welfare.

Non-cash payments are expected to be accepted by 70 per cent each of electricity and water suppliers, all universities and colleges, and 50 per cent of hospitals in major cities.

Around 20 per cent of social welfare payments will be made through banks.

According to a State Bank of Viet Nam’s report, non-cash payments have been becoming a trend in recent years.

The Government plans to develop modern means of bank payments and accept bank cards at treasuries, hospitals, and schools.

It has instructed banks to offer cards with multiple methods of use so that they can be used to pay directly, through smart phones and others.

It has encouraged co-operation between banks and other organisations to offer more forms of non-cash payments, especially for making payments related to social welfare.

But it has made it clear that these forms should be user-friendly so that even people in rural and remote places without bank accounts can use them. — VNS