Int’l card organisations continually urged to cut fees
The Vietnam Banks Association is urging international credit and debit card companies to reduce a number of fees, as the country continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
The association in April this year proposed the transaction fees to be cut by at least 50 percent for both banks which issue cards and receive payments. (Photo: baodautu.vn)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – The Vietnam Banks Association is urging internationalcredit and debit card companies to reduce a number of fees, as the countrycontinues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, in April this year, the association sent a written proposal to theorganisations related to the issue who said it would consider the proposal butso far, no fees have been cut.
The association said the pandemic has significantly affected operations andbusiness of banks in Vietnam, including card businesses, in recent months.
It cited statistics that the value of transactions by cards in the domesticmarket in the first three months of this year saw a drop of 21 percent while inforeign markets by 28 percent against the same period last year.
Value of repayment to cards in April tumbled by 78 percent against the sameperiod last year and 93 percent against March.
Some companies and organisations which accepted card payments, includingaviation, education, tourism sites and hotels, have seen the value oftransactions fall by 80 percent in March against the previous month and furtherdeclines were predicted.
The association urged international card organisations Visa andMastercard to reduce the fees on Vietnamese banks for at least 12 months.
Specifically, the association proposed the transaction fees to be cut by atleast 50 percent for both banks which issue cards andreceive payments.
For the long-term, it was critical to have appropriate policies for feecollection to promote the development of Vietnam’s card market, the associationsaid.
It said that Visa and Mastercard were collecting three to four types of feesfor each transaction, adding that the fees international card organisation werecollecting were much higher than those of domestic card switchingorganisations./.
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The Vietnam Banks Association has urged international card organisations to reduce several types of fees on Vietnamese banks in the context that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected their card businesses.
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The association in April this year proposed the transaction fees to be cut by at least 50 percent for both banks which issue cards and receive payments. 
