Hanoi (VNA) – VietQR Global, which enables Vietnamese users to make payments in many countries, and vice versa, currently covers more than 6% of domestic payment acceptance points, leaving significant room for expansion. The challenge, however, is not only to broaden coverage and connect more markets, but also to drive greater volumes of actual transactions.
Behind simple QR scan lies complex payment infrastructure
A seemingly simple QR scan is powered by multiple layers of infrastructure and connectivity behind the scenes.
According to Nguyen Dang Hung, Deputy General Director of the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), cross-border payment connectivity starts with building the necessary infrastructure. If banks and payment intermediaries establish direct connections with each individual country, the challenges extend beyond legal issues to settlement banks, liquidity and technical differences, ranging from QR standards and business processes to reconciliation, complaints handling, safety and security.
From the connectivity infrastructure, the challenge extends throughout the entire lifecycle of a transaction.
Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department, said that cross-border payments involve a wide range of processes, including customer identification and authentication, switching, currency conversion, payment, settlement, risk management, fraud prevention, anti-money laundering, reconciliation, complaints handling and data protection, as well as coordination among entities operating under different national legal frameworks.
Completing technical connectivity is an important achievement, but it is not the final destination. A payment corridor only becomes truly meaningful when it is used regularly, supported by a sufficiently broad acceptance network, offers reasonable costs and a convenient user experience, and generates actual economic transactions,
Meanwhile, customers’ needs are quite straightforward. Tuan cited the example of Vietnamese people travelling or working abroad who want to use their familiar banking or payment apps. Likewise, international visitors to Vietnam expect to be able to make convenient payments at hotels, restaurants, shops, tourist attractions, transport services and even small household businesses.
Customers do not need to know how many systems a transaction passes through. What matters to them is whether they can make the payment, whether exchange rates and fees are transparent, whether the transaction is secure, and how their interests will be protected if a problem occurs.
On the other side, merchants and other payment-accepting businesses also need to see clear benefits from participating. Cross-border payments must be easy to deploy, reasonably priced and supported by transparent settlement procedures, while helping businesses reach more customers.
Even as user demand grows, connectivity will struggle to deliver its full potential if the acceptance network remains too limited or participating businesses lack sufficient incentives.
Banks step up connectivity as payment borders disappear
Convenience for users can only translate into wider adoption when it is backed by a sufficiently extensive acceptance network. This is also a major area for VietQR Global to expand its coverage.
Data from the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department shows that Vietnam currently has more than 2.5 million domestic payment-accepting units. However, the number accepting VietQR Global remains relatively small, at around 154,000, or just over 6%.
To expand coverage, commercial banks are actively rolling out VietQR Global across their merchant networks. Sacombank is among the pioneers working with the NAPAS to deploy cross-border QR payment solutions.
According to a Sacombank representative, foreign visitors can use payment apps from their home countries to pay in Vietnam, while Vietnamese travellers abroad can use the Sacombank Pay app to scan QR codes, making payments as convenient as they are at home.
This not only supports tourism development but also creates opportunities to boost business for millions of Vietnamese retailers, household businesses and enterprises.
Nguyen Vinh Tuyen, Deputy General Director of Nam A Bank, previously noted that customers can easily make cross-border transactions with a single QR scan, providing a fast, convenient and secure experience while removing barriers to payments outside their home country.
To date, more than 810,000 outbound payment transactions from Vietnam have been recorded, with a total value exceeding 760 billion VND. Meanwhile, more than 111,000 inbound transactions from overseas to Vietnam have been recorded, worth over 232 billion VND in total.
Nam A Bank, together with other credit institutions, is continuing to expand its payment acceptance network for international visitors.
According to Tuan, significant tasks remain ahead, including stepping up communications and guidance and launching promotional programmes to encourage small traders, household businesses and other payment-accepting units to add the necessary identification codes.
These efforts are expected to expand coverage and improve the effectiveness of bilateral payment connectivity projects./.
