It is an urgent need to strengthen security for online transactions amidst burgeoning cashless payments, an official from the central bank has said, referring to biometric authentication to be mandatory from July 1.

Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently described Vietnam as the safest country in Southeast Asia against the threat of financial attacks targeting banks, payment systems and online stores.

Although the Lunar New Year (Tet) is nearing, long queues of people are no longer seen at automated teller machines (ATMs) like in previous years. Instead, online transactions on banking applications are facing difficulties, with network congestion frequently reported by users.

Three aid packages will be carried out in 2022 to help promote digital transformation in Vietnamese enterprises, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Online B2C transactions to Europe will be subject to value added tax (VAT) from July 1, the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and European Union (EU) has said.

Online transactions are on the rise in Philippines after the central bank urged Filipinos to refrain from cash payment in the context of complicated development of COVID-19.

Despite negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances Ho Chi Minh City received through commercial banks and economic organisations are forecast to reach 5.5 billion USD this year, a slight increase from 2019.

HCM City’s total retail sales of goods and service revenue fell 11.2 percent year-on-year to 387.5 trillion VND (16.5 billion USD) in the first four months of this year, primarily due to travel restrictions and changes in consumption.

The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) has introduced a second interest rate cut to help companies and individuals hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 2 emphasised both the requirement for no treatment discrimination against those who have gone through regions hit by COVID-19 to Vietnam and the need to step up quarantine, saying it is a useful measure to control the epidemic.

To prevent the spread of the new strain of coronavirus in Vietnam, customers are encouraged to adopt cashless payment methods.

Increasing internet and mobile network coverage has changed the way Tran Van Toan, a stock investor with 15 years’ experience in Hanoi, does business.

About 35 million people use smart phones in Vietnam, which is a favourable condition for the development of banking services on mobile platform.

Momo e-wallet service and Home Credit Vietnam finance company entered strategic cooperation on August 22 to help their clients enjoy smooth, swift, convenient and economical financial services.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), a major bank of the Philippines, had to shut down online transactions and automatic teller machines (ATMs) on June 7 after money went missing from accounts.

The development of e-payment in Vietnam has not been on par with its potential despite recognisable strides, Nguyen Thi Nhieu from the Vietnam Institute for Trade said at a workshop on May 11.

A set of comprehensive measures were drawn up by central Quang Tri province in a plan to support e-commerce development from 2016-2020.

The Vietnam Export-Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) will use India- based Infosys’ new software Finacle Core Banking for its banking products and services and internal management.

Measures to address e-commerce related disputes between Vietnamese and Japanese firms were sought at a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 12.