Mobile Money increases the access and use of financial services, especially in rural, mountainous, remote, border and islands of Việt Nam. (Photo: viettelstore.vn) Ofwhich, the number of customers registering and using the service in rural,mountainous, remote, border and island areas is nearly 660,000, accounting formore than 60 percent.
TheLao Dong (Labourer) newspaper cooperated with the Payment Department under theState Bank of Vietnam and the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority under theMinistry of Information and Communications to organise a workshop on promotingthe development of Mobile Money in Vietnam.
Morethan 3,000 business points accepting Mobile Money method have been establishedby the end of March. In which, the number of establishments in rural, remote,border and island areas is about 900, accounting for about 30 percent.
Thetotal number of transactions using Mobile Money has reached more than8.5 million with a total value of more than 370 billion VND (16 million USD).
LeAnh Dung, Deputy Director of the Payment Department, said that the pilotenterprises had achieved positive results and ensured safety after nearly sixmonths of implementation, contributing to the development of non-cash paymentactivities, increasing the access and use of financial services, especially inrural, mountainous, remote, border and islands of Vietnam.
Dungassessed that the deployment of Mobile Money service had taken advantage ofinfrastructure and data and telecommunications networks, which has helpedreduce social costs and expand cashless payment channels on mobiledevices, bringing convenience to users and meetting the actual needs ofpeople and society.
TruongQuang Viet, Deputy General Director of Viettel Digital Services Corporation,said that after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, production and businessactivities encountered many difficulties, which makes the country realise moreclearly than ever that the universalisation of digital payments is necessary.
Thetransition to the digital economy was a paramount task, he emphasised.
Regardlessof internet connection or bank account, with just phone numbers, users acrossthe country could make cashless transactions, extremely easily through a MobileMoney account, he said.
Especially,in the period of the new normal, Mobile Money plays an important role inexpanding trade opportunities for everyone, bridging the geographical andtechnological gap.
Vietsaid that as 40 percent of Vietnamese people do not have a bank account,the deployment of Mobile Money also created favourable conditions for theGovernment to carry out support activities for disadvantaged groups, people inremote areas such as the disbursement of subsidies, social security funds andloans to facilitate economic development.
Therepresentative from Viettel said that the benefits of Mobile Money to peoplewere undeniable.
“However,for the first time officially being licensed in the Vietnamese market, MobileMoney has also posed a problem in changing people's spending and money usebehaviour,” he said.
Việtsuggested Vietnam should speed up disbursement activities, support productionand business for disadvantaged groups and people in remote areas throughMobile Money, so that it would become both a method and a driving force toimprove people's lives, stimulate use and bring mobile money closer to life.
Alongwith that, State management agencies also needed to provide orientations andwork out support policies to build and further replicate non-cash paymentmodels across the country, so all citizens soon access and accept digitalpayments as a familiar and convenient form of spending, he proposed.
Banksand carriers deploying Mobile Money should also continue to maintain andfurther promote cooperation, thereby bringing value to people when usingdigital payment utilities, noted Viet.
Sothat, all people in all regions of the country could receive more and morebenefits from the cashless economy, which motivates them to use andgradually change spending habits in daily life, he added./.
VNA
