Hanoi(VNA) – The Vietnam E-Payment Forum (VEPF) 2017 opened in Hanoi on November 6,during which participants focused on the development of an ecosystem forcashless payment in Vietnam.

Addressing the event,Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue underscored the significance of digitaltechnology application, saying that it helps remove barriers in space, time andgeographic gap, allowing credit institutions to supply products and services atlower prices and creating easy access for customers, he noted.

Like many countries, Vietnamhas pursued a target of reducing rich-poverty gap, dealing with social andenvironment issues, ensuring that people in all walks of life benefit fromeconomic development achievements, and heading to sustainable growth, said Hue.

He also stressed theneed to connect all sectors, ministries and relevant agencies in coping with difficultiesfacing e-payment and mobile payment, thus developing non-cash payment in Vietnam.

According to NguyenKim Anh, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), IT application in thebanking sector has helped promoted progress in the sector’s operation as wellas payment activities in particular, thus expanding access of banking servicesand improving governing capacity of credit institutions.

At the forum,Executive Chairman of the Chinese Alibaba Group Jack Ma shared his experiencein e-commerce and e-payment via mobile devices in China as well as theglobalization process of Alibaba.

He held that inVietnam, these services are being hindered by the hesitation of users.

Telling the story ofAliPay, Alibaba’s payment application, Jack Ma said that when it was introduced10 years ago, the initiative was doubted by many people. He stressed thesignificance of new ideas in launching startups, as well as the need forgovernments to create space for startups’ development.

Thomas Ko, GeneralManagement of Samsung Pay, said that Samsung aims to simplify payments usingsmartphones. He also underscored that convenience must go with safety.

Meanwhile, DeputyMinister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung said that Vietnam’smodern telecommunications infrastructure is facilitating the growth of othereconomic sectors.

Vietnam has over 120million mobile service subscribers, with 53 percent of the population accessingthe Internet, ranking 15th in the world. At the same time, 50 million smartphones are operating in 2017, he noted.

SBV Deputy Governor Anhsaid that a legal framework for e-payment is crucial.

Sharing Anh’s idea,Deputy PM Hue said that the trend of e-payment may bloom in Vietnam in thefuture. He asked ministries and sectors to develop e-payment in managing theinformal economy.-VNA