Vietnam sees increasing preference for digital banking and new payment modes, says report

Image from Vietnam News/ANN

HANOI (Xinhua): There is an increasing preference for digital banking and new payment modes among Vietnamese consumers, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The digital banking and new payment modes include mobile banking apps, e-wallets, QR code-based payments, e-commerce payment platforms and mobile wallet debit or credit cards, the agency cited the United Overseas Bank (UOB)'s report.

Every four in five consumers in Vietnam use e-wallets at least once a week and introduce the wallet to others. Momo is the most popular e-wallet, followed by ZaloPay and VNPay, the recently-released UOB's ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study said.

Mobile banking apps have seen a spike in usage, with 54 percent of the survey's respondents increasing their use of this channel over the past year.

More than half of the respondents preferred using online tools to transfer money overseas and check the status of rewards, Vietnam Investment Review reported.

Paul Kim, head of Personal Financial Services at the bank, said as Vietnamese consumers become more digitally proficient, there is a surge in the use of mobile apps; however, when it comes to complicated transactions such as high-value transactions, restructuring of bank loans and insurance purchase, they prefer offline channels.

ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study is UOB's regional flagship study analyzing consumer trends and sentiments in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

This year, the study was conducted from June 1 to June 26, and surveyed 3,400 respondents online across the five countries, including 600 in Vietnam. Enditem