Banks in Vietnam are vying with each other to diversify their internet banking services in order to take advantage of people's increasing reliance on mobile electronic devices.
According to data collected in a survey on internet usage in Vietnam
made in 2011 by Cimigo Vietnam , which specialises in marketing and
brand research, 60 percent of the 5,800 people polled used mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet PCs to connect to the Internet.
The survey says the number of people using PCs for accessing the internet dropped from 84 percent in 2010 to 81 percent in 2011 while the percentage of people using mobile electronic devices more than doubled from 27 percent in 2010 to 60 percent in 2011.
The rapid increase in the number of people using mobile electronic devices has created big opportunities for services related to advertising, marketing and especially e-banking to develop strongly in the domestic market.
Cimigo Vietnam 's study also points out that mobile transactions are far more convenient than the alternative, as it takes only one or two minutes for a mobile phone user to complete a bank transaction.
So many commercial banks are seeking to develop new e-banking services in order to take advantage of customer demand for mobile transactions.
The Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) seems to have joined this movement at the right time. Since late May, the bank has offered several new e-banking services under the "ACB Online-Mobile Service" name.
These utilities will help customers make transactions any time, anywhere on their portable devices.
ACB Online is compatible with most of the mobile phones and tablet PCs currently on the market. The new service offers customers the ability to check their balance as well as obtain other information
such as interest rates, fees, and securities. Customers can also
transfer money both inside and outside ACB Bank by credit card, ID card
or passport, recharge prepaid mobile phones and pay post-paid mobile
phone bills.
Many other commercial banks have also launched internet banking services similar to the ABC Online-Mobile Service to help customers easily make transactions via mobile electronic devices.
The Military Joint Stock Commercial Bank offers the eMB service, Orient Joint Stock Commercial Bank has the OCB Online service, and Ocean Joint Stock Commercial Bank features the Easy Online Banking service.
Meanwhile, Nam A Joint Stock Commercial Bank facilitates customers' transactions with the Dai A Bank Online service, and the Dong A Joint Stock Commercial Bank has launched its own Mobile Banking Service.
The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) has also enriched its internet banking service with utilities for corporate customers. Customers will find it easy to make periodical/lot transfers into or out of the HDBank system as well as settle expenditures and buy airplane tickets.
Furthermore,
customers can settle electric bills ( HCM City ) or buy airplane
tickets from agents. All transactions are guaranteed under the automatic multi-level submission mode.
Accordingly, such transactions will undergo multiple checks before going through, ensuring maximum safety for clients. These services are now free or discounted, as are many other incentives offered by the banks.-VNA