Highlanders go to the market by phone
One morning at Ben Do market (Au Lau ward, Lao Cai province), the buying and selling atmosphere is still bustling as usual. Baskets of green vegetables just picked from the fields, fresh stream fish trays, or fruit stalls full of local agricultural products.
Ben Do market has long been considered one of the familiar trading points of people in the Red River area and neighboring highland communes. Every early morning, small traders from many villages bring forest vegetables, bamboo shoots, chickens, ducks or self-grown agricultural products to the market to trade, creating a characteristic atmosphere of a mountain market.
Among those familiar images, in front of many stalls, small signs printed with QR codes have now appeared. Buyers only need to open the banking application on their phone, scan the code and transfer money, the transaction is completed in just a few seconds.
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Huong (29 years old, Yen Bai ward) said that before, every time she went to Ben Do market to buy wild vegetables, bamboo shoots or agricultural products from people in the highlands, she had to prepare cash, especially small change.
“Some days when going to the market, I quickly forgot to bring money, before I probably had to go back to get it. But now many stalls have QR codes, just scanning my phone and you can pay immediately. Very convenient, especially for young people who are used to phone transactions,” Ms. Huong shared.
Not only buyers, many small traders are also gradually getting used to the new payment method.
Ms. Bui Thi Nga (53 years old) - a small trader selling fruits in the market - said that initially she was quite unfamiliar with receiving money over the phone.
“Before, I only received cash. But young customers asked for transfers not too much, so my son created a QR code and printed it and pasted it in front of the counter. Since having the code, every day customers scan to pay, sometimes almost half of the sales money is transferred,” Ms. Nga said.
According to Ms. Nga, payment via QR code helps to make buying and selling faster, especially during morning rush hours.
Technology enters traditional markets
It is known that the cashless payment model at Ben Do market has been implemented since 2023 when the Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with the People's Committee of Yen Bai City (old) and Viettel Yen Bai to pilot the model "Market 4.0 - cashless payment market".
From the initial testing steps, to date, scanning QR codes at the market has become quite familiar.
Ms. Pham Thi Hau (35 years old) - a grocery trader - said that customers are using the form of bank transfers more and more.
In the morning, many people go to work in a hurry, they buy a few items and then scan the transfer code very quickly. No need to count money or return change, so buying and selling is much more convenient," Ms. Hau said.
However, electronic payments at highland markets still face some difficulties, mainly related to network infrastructure.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh (45 years old) - a vegetable trader - said that sometimes weak networks cause transactions to be slow.
There are times when customers scan codes but report slow transactions, having to wait a while to see money in. When there are many customers, it is also a bit inconvenient," Mr. Thanh shared.
Some small traders also said that they occasionally encounter cases where customers say they have transferred money but notify them not to return immediately, forcing sellers to check again on the phone.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Cao Xuan Thanh - Head of Ben Do Market Management Board - said that the market currently has 488 business points, of which about 90% of small traders have used QR codes for payment.
To support this model, the Market Management Board has coordinated with telecommunications units to install network and wifi systems covering the market area. Currently, the market has 3 wifi hotspots, and also coordinates with some banks such as BIDV, MB, VietinBank... to provide QR codes for small traders.
However, due to the large number of users, network capacity sometimes does not meet the demand. The management board is proposing that telecommunications units continue to upgrade infrastructure to make electronic payments more convenient," Mr. Thanh informed.
Not only Ben Do market, payment by QR code or bank transfer is also gradually becoming popular in many highland markets in Lao Cai province.
Although the habit of using cash is still common among a part of the population, the fact that more and more small traders paste QR codes in front of stalls shows a clear change. Technology is gradually entering mountainous markets, where previous purchases and sales were mainly associated with cash and familiar small bills.
