Visa to Issue Smart Cards in Vietnam in 2007

Visa International will issue its chip, or smart cards, in Vietnam as early as next year as there is strong demand and interest among Vietnamese consumers, said Visa country director Stuart Tomlinson.

 

The decision is based on a Visa survey conducted in Vietnam and other countries in the Asian-Pacific region in 2004-2005, in which up to 69 per cent of queried Vietnamese customers said that chip cards were better and safer than other cards.

The survey polled consumers between the ages of 18 and 50 who owned at least one type of payment card and a mobile or computer.

 

“Nearly half of the surveyed consumers in Vietnam highlighted convenience as the most preferred feature of chip cards,” said Peter Manners, Visa Asia Pacific’s emerging products and technologies division.

 

Chip cards are embedded with microchip that can store identification information and health and discount points. They offer better security than the current magnetic strip cards, whose contents can be easily copied, Manners said.

 

“The smart cards can also combine multiple functions or applications from different industries such as loyalty or discount points, identification, access, transit or health information,” he said.

 

Banks and merchants in Vietnam have been preparing to provide chip card payment services in late 2006, he said.

In Vietnam, the Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (Sacombank) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam (Incombank) are positioned to accept payment via chip cards and 4,400 chip terminals have already been deployed.

 

“Our focus with this research is to help Visa members and retailers to have a better understanding of consumers’ expectation with regard to payment cards, particularly chip cards,” said Stuart Tomlinson.

 

Visa International entered Vietnam 15 years ago and has partnered with 15 member financial institutions, including four state-owned banks, some key joint stock banks such as ACB, Sacombank and Eximbank. These institutions support and enable over 11,500 local merchants and 1,000 ATMs to accept Visa cards for payment.

 

In the12-month period leading up to last December, Visa credit and debit cards in Vietnam numbered 110,000, an increase of 74.4 per cent on-year. Visa total card sales volume recorded more than US$100 million.