The Government’s Decision No.270 issued on October 31 has paved the way for the Postal Savings Service Company (PSSC) to encroaching deeper into the banking sector despite rejection from this industry.
According to the decision, PSSC, an arm of the Vietnam Post & Telecommunications Corp. (VNPT), has been allowed to provide several payment services, such as cheques, ATM cards, and banking accounts.
Beside existing services such as postal savings, certificates of deposits, any worthy papers, PSSC will from now offer collection and payment, and personal account services, as well as too function as agent to issue bonds.
Operating from May 1999, PSSC covers mobilizing capital from people and transferring it to the Development Assistance Fund (DAF) to invest in key national projects. The company began carrying out payment service via personal accounts from June 2003.
However, the banking sector has not given consent to the firm’s expanded services, reasoning that PSSC lacks of requirements for safe system and risk prevention.
PSSC is operating with registered capital of VND163 billion (US$10.4 million).
In the first nine months this year, the firm mobilized VND9.4 trillion (US$595 million) via its 812 post offices nationwide, bringing its total mobilization so far to VND43 trillion (US$2.72 billion).
PSSC transferred VND1.54 trillion (US$97.5 million) for the DAF in the period, accounting for 55 per cent of the annual plan, which is set at VND2.8 trillion (US$177 million)
The firm plans to mobilize VND13 trillion (US$828 million) via postal savings services and expects to transfer VND18 trillion (US$1.14 billion) via the money transfer service in 2005.
VietNamNet
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