VIB joins hands to build cashless society in Vietnam

On November 19, at the conference themed "Towards a cashless country", Tran Thu Huong, strategy director and head of Retail Banking at VIB shared about the importance of financial communication and education for future generations in promoting cashless payments.

Within the framework of the "Cashless Day 2021" event, "Towards a cashless country" covered many topical issues such as: How the pandemic has changed the payment habits of both consumers and retailers? How do businesses adapt to the changes? How important financial education and cashless payments are in the current context?

One panel discussion delves into how businesses adapt to the changing consumption habits. At this panel, Huong shared her thoughts about how to expand banks’ customer base to those under the age of 15. She noted that banks like VIB have rolled out many solutions and technologies to get 10-12-year-old children involved in the financial world with the "real-time" supervision of their parents. Banks can help families limit the maximum amount of spending per day, and the list of goods students can trade, such as books, meals, and learning services, among others. Children at this age have learned about basic rules in life. Most of them use pocket money to buy breakfast, school supplies, as well as other items. Instead of using cash, they can swich to digital accounts and cards to get used to cashless payments.

As the children were born and raised in a digital environment, it is very convenient for them to get access and use digital banking services. Meanwhile, banking services will become more familiar and connected with daily family activities.

To expand this customer base, the bank not only brings financial education into schools but also develops cashless product packages for families and children. VIB is a pioneer in getting young children involved into financial inclusion and cashless payment efforts. To facilitate the goal, VIB has teamed up with Visa to launch the Family Link card line – allowing the whole family to pay online via digital bank accounts and cards. Through VIB Family Link, children can get their first savings account and become familiar with banking payments and basic financial concepts.

"The big flames all originate from a small spark. From the efforts of the banking industry, cashless payment will spread to every family. With the direction of the State Bank of Vietnam and the relentless efforts of the banks, we believe that banking services will be socialised and become popular, accelerating Vietnam’s transformation into a cashless country," Huong said.

The panel discusstions not only focus on expanding the financial and cashless payment experience for teenagers but also looking into solutions to promote financial activities for students. At the same time, a series of communication, propaganda, and education activities should be implemented synchronously from the school to the member banks.

Also in the workshop, VIB together with banks and businesses received the Medal of the Companion with Cashless Day. As one of the leading retail banks and a pioneer in digital transformation, VIB has actively made efforts to contribute to the development of a cashless society according to the guidelines of the government and the SBV, including raising awareness of the community towards a common goal – a cashless country.