Vietnam is one of the fastest growing markets for Visa across the globe and the US payments technology company stands ready to support the Vietnamese government to realize the vision for a cashless economy, Al Kelly, chief executive officer of Visa Inc. has said.

“With a young population, emerging middle class and consistently strong economic growth, we are very optimistic about the future of digital payments here and the role we can play in supporting Vietnam as it continues on its path to becoming a developed economy,” Kelly is quoted as saying in a statement.

Al Kelly headed a delegation of Visa executives in a visit to Vietnam earlier this week as the US-based payments technology company reinforces its commitment to growing the adoption of digital payments and driving the digital economy.  

The delegation met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, State Bank of Vietnam Governor Le Minh Hung, as well as heads of Vietnamese banks, to discuss the importance of digital payments and how the company can deepen its partnership across the ecosystem.

“We strongly support Vision 2045 and will continue to partner with our clients, the government and the broader ecosystem to help Vietnam realize this goal. We have come a long way but there is still much to do. We’re committed to driving financial inclusion, financial literacy, and introducing new payment innovations that will make it faster, more convenient and more secure for Vietnamese consumers and businesses to pay and be paid,” Kelly added.

Visa has a long standing commitment to Vietnam with the first Visa card payments being accepted by retailers back in 1995 and the first Visa credit card launched in the country two years later.

Visa will soon be launching its Future of Security Roadmap for Vietnam, working closely with the State Bank of Vietnam to design a robust approach for strengthening payments security in the country.

Visa is also working closely with the government to enable digital payments across a variety of use cases including transit, with developments underway on a smart ticketing system on city buses in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnamese consumers are embracing digital payments as a faster and more convenient way to pay, with consumers using their credit and debit cards more often for in store and online purchases, according to figures released by Visa.

The figures indicate a number of positive trends in the growth of digital payments in Vietnam. The total value of purchases made by Vietnamese consumers on their Visa credit and debit cards was up 37% year-on-year in 2018, while the number of transactions rose 25%. eCommerce in particular saw strong growth with the total value of purchases up by 40%.

“Vietnam is at a pivotal time in the evolution of its economy. While the country has a heavy reliance on cash, we are seeing some very positive signs of this changing, including increasing uptake of digital payments such as debit cards and credit cards, the adoption of new payment technologies such as contactless payments, and a rise in eCommerce,” Kelly said.