Hanoi (VNA) 𒁃- Experts said the COVID-19 pandemic helps consumers to realize the practical benefits of non-cash payments. The pandemic's challenges have accelerated the digital transformations in all fields, from e-government to the industry.

To sustain their development, businesses cannot stand outside the digital transformation game.

An impressive increase

With 145.8 million mobile subscribers out of a total population of approximately 97 million people (accounting for 150 percent of the total population, according to We are Social & Hootsuite), in the last COVID-19 outbreak, many people have experienced cashless payment via mobile phone for their first time. If online payment defaulted only for young people in the past, the number of online transactions recorded a high rise in many customer groups after the social distancing period. According to the State Bank of Vietnam's Payment Department, as of July, the number of card payment transactions reached nearly 205.6 million, with a value of almost 475,900 billion VND (up 29.7 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2019). The number of payment transactions via the Internet reached 240.9 million, totalling 15.2 million billion VND, up 39.1 percent in value over the same period last year. In particular, following the strong growth momentum in recent years, the number of mobile payment transactions reached 574.4 million, with 5.9 million billion VND in value, up 184.2 percent in volume and 186.3 percent in value over 2019's figures. The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) is currently processing 2.8 million transactions per day, or nearly 21,000 billion VND /day, equivalent to nearly 1 billion USD of non-cash payment every day. Previously, online shopping mainly focused on clothing and home appliances products; now customers can get "fresh" items with only a few clicks. Retail industry giants are offering numerous 4.0 shopping applications to consumers, especially during the recent outbreaks. Meanwhile, consumers are also gradually reducing cash payment for many reasons, especially with the convenience of new payment methods such as card payment or mobile devices and e-commerce. The consumers' changing habits pose banks to build a payment ecosystem that is smarter and more friendly to the elderly and works well for people in both the rural and urban areas.

Gradually changing consumption habits

"Digital transformation is one of the key drivers of Vietcombank's growth," said Mr. Dao Minh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Vietcombank, at the online launch of the VCB Digibank app. Data is considered an essential asset of businesses. Thanks to the active application of artificial intelligence and big data analysis, together with its partners, Vietcombank wishes to build a comprehensive ecosystem where customers are the centre. With this app, customers will have only one username and one password for all VCB Digibank services. In the past, customers often had difficulty remembering two separate usernames and passwords for internet b@nking and mobile b@nking apps.  Now, VCB Digibank's username is the mobile phone number the customer registered to the bank. If you go abroad regularly, you only need to register for the SMART OTP authentication method on VCB Digibank to avoid transaction interruption due to not receiving SMS OTP from the telecom operator. Besides online transactions, the strongly developed modern technology has contributed to diversifying the products and services ecosystem, bringing comprehensive benefits to users. In addition, due to the complicated situation of cyber crimes,  customers are urged to upgrade their domestic chip card standards, namely Vietcombank Contactless card, to the current best security standards, in line with EMV standards. Cashless payments are sure to be around for a long time. However, the speed of online payment conversion and the outstanding benefits of digital banking will not slow down. With decreasing costs and increasing safety, digital payments will soon overtake non-cash payments./.