Credit card market likely to boom in Vietnam

Vietnamese commercial banks are striving to expand and improve Vietnam’s credit card market, which has huge potentials, the Thanh Nien Online reported.
Vietnamese commercial banks are striving to expand and improveVietnam’s credit card market, which has huge potentials, the Thanh NienOnline reported.

The article cited statistics published by theState Bank of Vietnam (SBV) which showed that by the end of Q3/2014, anastounding 76 million cards were issued by 50 banks and creditinstitutes, but credit cards accounted for just 4 percent (approximately3 million cards).

Credit cards, a convenient form of payment,are popular internationally and used by most frequent travellers.However, the Vietnamese public is not used to credit cards, providing alarge gap in the market that could be seized upon.

Besides,credit cards are not accepted widely in the country except for majorshopping centres and hotels, which is another reason why few people wantto use it.

Even companies are not willing to use creditcards. Quang Minh, head of a representative foreign office in Hanoi,said most of his staff were hesitant to use credit cards to pay forexpenses during business trips due to the interest payments incurred bythe card.

To win over business clients, some of thebiggest banks have issued special credit cards for this group ofcustomers, such as Vietcombank’s American Express (Amex) credit cardwhich provides financial support for organisations and businesses duringa 57-day interest free period.

In addition, the credit cardissuers offer their customers detailed account statements, indicatingtheir total spending in a specific period. Thanks to this transparencyin transaction management, enterprises can improve relations with theirimportant partners.

According to some experts, credit cards willbecome more attractive for enterprises as they now often come with aglobal travel insurance package. Vietcombank American Express providesan insurance package worth 4 billion VND (186,000 USD) together withother services, such as global emergency assistance and professionaladvice.

Business credit cards mark the emergence of a new kind ofquality in Vietnam’s credit card market. This market will hold a greatpotential for commercial banks in many years to come.-VNA

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