Voters in Hung Yen province recommended that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and commercial banks invest in more ATMs and expand the network of branches to support beneficiaries, especially the elderly and people with disabilities.
According to the reflection, receiving subsidies through bank accounts is supported by people but the number of ATMs is limited, mainly located in the center, causing difficulties for people who cannot travel far. Voters also proposed exempting or reducing payment service fees for meritorious people and social protection beneficiaries.
Responding to this proposal, the SBV said that it has implemented many solutions to promote cashless payments, and at the same time directed commercial banks to develop and reasonably arrange ATM and POS systems, expanding to rural, remote and isolated areas. Currently, the country has more than 21,000 ATMs and 733,000 POS, this number is still being adjusted by banks according to actual needs.
Regarding the expansion of the branch network, the SBV emphasized that credit institutions will decide on the location of expansion based on business strategy and market demand. However, the SBV still encourages the expansion of the banking network in hard-to-reach areas to create more favorable conditions for people.
Regarding the proposed fee exemption, the SBV said that it has directed banks to study preferential policies for groups of beneficiaries of social security benefits. Some banks have applied fee exemptions and reductions for people subject to social protection when using bank accounts, bank cards and e-wallets to receive subsidies.
