Vietnam sees rapid growth in digital payment: Visa

Vietnamese consumers are rapidly adopting a range of digital payment methods, the latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study shows.

The study, published Wednesday by world-leading digital payment firm Visa, demonstrates an emphatic shift in payment habits in the country.

Up to 65% of Vietnamese are carrying less cash in their wallets, and 32% said they would stop using cash after the pandemic, according to the report. Nearly 76% of consumers now use mobile wallets and 82% use cards.

“The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be ignored, neither in the short term or the long term. It has resulted in lasting changes in the ways consumers are choosing to make purchases and in how they pay. Success for merchants and businesses rests on their ability to evolve and transform with these changes,” said Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos.

Online shopping and cash alternatives are likely to remain after the pandemic, according to the study. Two-thirds of Vietnamese tried shopping online during the pandemic and half of them made their first purchase through social media. Nine out of 10 consumers are now using home delivery, and almost all of them use it more often than before the pandemic.

Spending on all forms of travel decreased as people cancelled or postponed trips, along with eating out and out of home entertainment, the study found. After the pandemic, consumers are most eager to spend on travel, especially domestically - 25%. The surge in travel demand among Vietnamese consumers is driven by reconnection, over necessity or wanderlust exploration, as consumers yearn to reunite with family and friends.

Another finding is due to the pandemic, more than 80% now use their cards, QR payments and mobile wallets at least once a week. Meanwhile, half of Vietnamese have begun using cards more often, while 64% and 63% have increased their usage of mobile contactless and mobile wallet payments.

The study was prepared in August and September 2021 by CLEAR, an American technology company that operates biometric travel document verification systems in airport security. It surveyed 6,520 consumers in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The study conducted online interviews with 1,000 Vietnamese consumers who were working part or full time with a demographic mix that sought to create a representative mix of ages and genders, Visa said.