The Viet Nam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) on Monday launched the first prepaid online Smartcash Visa Card in Viet Nam with the aim of contributing to the country's e-commerce development.—VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Viet Nam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) on Monday launched the first prepaid online Smartcash Visa Card in Viet Nam with the aim of contributing to the country's e-commerce development.

The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has permitted the bank to pilot the cards for deposits, transfers, e-commerce transactions and cash withdrawals. The maximum limit for a prepaid virtual Visa SmartCash card will be VND5 million (US$238).

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Lorijion Bacchi, Visa country director to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, said the issue of the card marked an important step towards serving the bank's customers.

Online purchasing is becoming more popular in Viet Nam. A research last year revealed that 67 per cent of Vietnamese people went online everyday, 98 per cent were looking for products online and 71 per cent conducted transactions, she said.

She added that the card would allow people to conduct safe online payments at any time.

Bancore's Southeast Asia representative said the country's card market potential was huge due to its young population.

He said he expected that the launch would be a breakthrough following experiences in Europe, Africa and other countries.

Customers can register to open an account at smartcash.vpb.com.vn.

VPBank is responsible for the technical solutions, processes of customer management, claims processing as well as security, and risk provisioning to ensure compliance with SBV regulations.

Every six months, the bank will be required to send report to the SBV about the implementation of prepaid virtual Visa SmartCash cards.—VNS