Vietnam is moving rapidly toward a cashless economy thanks to its young, tech-savvy population, smartphone penetration and government investment in e-payment infrastructure.
As Vietnam races towards a digital future, the rapid digitization of banking services promises to improve operational efficiency and bring more convenience to customers.
However, this transition also brings significant security challenges in digital banking systems.
The Rise of Cashless Payments in Vietnam
Vietnam is moving rapidly towards a cashless economy, thanks to its young, tech-savvy population, smartphone penetration, and strong government investment in infrastructure and e-payments programs. Figures from the State Bank of Vietnam show that as of January 2024, non-cash payment transactions increased sharply by 63.3% in volume and 41.45% in value compared to the previous year. Internet and mobile banking are driving this change, with more than 90% of transactions now taking place digitally. To maintain this positive growth momentum, Vietnam needs to focus on improving people's financial literacy; increasing access to e-payment methods and enhancing security in e-payment applications.Mastercard commits to working with Vietnam to build a comprehensive cashless society
Committed to promoting the digital economy in Vietnam, Mastercard has implemented many strategic cooperation activities and initiatives. Notably, Mastercard has promoted digital payments on buses and trains. For buses, Mastercard has cooperated with OneFin Vietnam and VPBank to deploy a one-touch payment system, applying OneFin's new payment technology, combining Mastercard's Open-Loop payment solution and VPBank's online payment gateway. With this payment method, Ho Chi Minh City residents can make payments across transportation-school-shopping-consumption with just one chip-embedded bank card. For trains, Mastercard has entered into a strategic partnership with Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC 1). This partnership brings a cashless payment system to the city's Metro Line 1, helping to improve the efficiency and convenience of public transport, contributing to building a smarter urban infrastructure.
Not only promoting digital payments on a large scale, Mastercard also focuses on investing and developing technological solutions to ensure the safety and security of cardholder transactions.
Speaking at the workshop "Improving safety and security in non-cash payments" within the framework of Cashless Day 2024, Ms. Winnie Wong, Country Director of Mastercard in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, emphasized the importance of raising user awareness about security in digital payments.
For physical cards, Mastercard introduced “numberless cards,” which allow users to manage their card status while still protecting their information.
For digital cards, they use encryption to secure card information, shared only between the user and the service provider.
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