According to the e-Conomy SEA 2024 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Vietnam's digital payments will record an impressive gross transaction value (GTV), increasing from US$126 billion in 2023 to US$149 billion in 2024.
Along with the growth of digital payments, users' payment behavior is also changing, not simply shifting from cash to cashless, even within the cashless scope, new forms of payment are spreading widely while traditional electronic payments are gradually narrowing.
QR and NFC Payments: Leading Growth in 2024
The year 2024 will witness a dramatic shift in consumer payment behavior. Surpassing other payment methods, QR payments and NFC technology payments have become the "pioneers" in the digitalization journey of the economy.
QR payment, with an average growth rate of 8% - 10% per month, is now not only popular when shopping at convenience stores or paying for meals but also expanding to areas such as electronics, furniture, jewelry, and even financial investment.
Besides QR, 2024 is also the year of contactless payments via NFC.
While contactless payments grew quite well with an average increase of about 6% per month, traditional payment methods (swipe/insert chip) decreased by 2% - 3% per month.
Interestingly, in contactless payments, Apple's payment method of integrating cards into mobile devices (called Apple Pay) is becoming a leading trend.
With an impressive growth rate of over 15% per month, Apple Pay is becoming a preferred choice for consumers, especially in the context of increasing demand for fast, safe and convenient payments.
Many localities speed up electronic payments
In 2024, there will be a significant shift in the proportion of payments across all industries and localities, from 60% online - 40% payment at the point (in 2023) to 65% online - 35% payment at the point this year.
With the payment method at the point of sale, besides Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City is the two leading localities in cashless payment growth, 2024 witnessed a remarkable breakthrough from other provinces and cities.
Many other localities also have electronic payment transaction growth of over 7% per month, such as Da Nang, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Kien Giang, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc...
This development shows the effectiveness of digital payment transformation programs from the public service sector to the private sector that have been being implemented by ministries, local authorities, banks, and payment intermediaries over the past time.
According to the Government's project to develop non-cash payments in Vietnam 2021-2025, the goal is that by the end of 2025, the value of non-cash payments will be 25 times the GDP; non-cash payments in e-commerce will reach 50%; 80% of people aged 15 and over will have transaction accounts at banks or other licensed organizations; increase people's access to payment services; increase the number of non-cash payment acceptance points to over 450,000 points.
