In the last days of January 2026, the silver market witnessed the scene of people bringing notebooks, pens, self-creating orderlists, queuing overnight to wait to buy silver.
From the story of "lining up" and "waiting for delivery", a new direction is being implemented by businesses: Shifting part of the demand to digital channels to reduce the load on stores, while standardizing payment processes.
Instead of buyers having to come directly, queue by day and pay at the counter, the new model aims at ordering - paying directly on the digital banking application, then receiving goods according to the choice of delivery to the place or to the receiving point.
According to research, at the end of January, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Ancarat Precious Metals Joint Stock Company signed a memorandum of cooperation. The two sides deployed the feature of buying 99.9% Ancarat silver bars and ingots and paying on the BIDV SmartBanking application, adding another transaction channel in the context of the market being under great pressure at direct sales points.
Buying silver on BIDV SmartBanking can help buyers buy silver on the application and receive physical silver immediately, instead of having to pre-order and wait for delivery for a long time as before.
From an operational perspective, uploading transactions to the app is not only adding a "payment channel", but also a way to filter demand and allocate supply. In the context of the market easily experiencing a buying mentality, businesses are also considering the option of limiting the number of purchases per day to limit speculation, and at the same time gradually increasing output uploaded to digital channels to meet actual demand.
Not only the BIDV - Ancarat channel, VietinBank also previously introduced the feature of buying silver for online storage on the VietinBank iPay Mobile application in the digiGOLD platform, allowing users to buy in small quantities and operate online. The fact that banks are participating in this story shows that the market is entering a different phase: From being almost completely dependent on direct sales points, businesses are starting to find ways to expand payment infrastructure and distribution channels to "solve the queuing problem".
Meanwhile, to minimize overload at stores during the period of strong demand, Phu Quy maintains an online ordering channel and guides customers to pay by transferring money to bank accounts, thereby helping to reduce cash transactions at points of sale and save time for buyers.
From the story of "lining up all night" to silver starting to "go to apps", the market is showing a remarkable movement: Businesses and banks are finding ways to digitize processes, reduce the burden on points of sale and increase payment transparency.
