After ten years, the Vietnam Bank Card Association (VBCA) has become the focal point, promoting the development of the local bank card market in Vietnam. At the same time, the association has played an important role in promoting co-operation among member banks and between them with international card organisations.
Before 1995, Vietnamese banks acted as payment agents for foreign card issuing banks. In 1996, VBCA was established with four founding banks, including the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank), the Asian Commercial Joint stock Bank (ACB), Export Import Commercial Bank (Eximbank), and the Joint venture bank of Chohung Vina. In the same year, the four banks became official members of the international financial organisation of MasterCard, providing international card payment and issuing services for high-income earners in Vietnam.
Becoming members of VBCA, local banks have seen a strong development in card business with Vietcombank and ACB becoming official members of Visa Card in 1997. Vietcombank became authorised partner of American Express in 2002. Also in the same year, alongside a successful deployment of a core-banking system, Vietnamese banks started to issue cards in the local market and develop automated teller machine (ATM) networks, meeting the demand of Vietnamese people and implementing the State Bank of Vietnam’s policy on promoting non-cash payment tools.
After ten years’ development, VBCA has had 20 member banks including four State-owned commercial banks, 13 commercial joint stock banks, a joint venture bank, a foreign-owned bank and a national switching company, which have occupied 90 per cent of the Vietnamese card market. The Mekong Delta Housing Development Bank and the Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank are completing procedures to become members of VBCA.
The number of cards issued by VBCA members has increased from 25,000 in 2002 to 3.5 million cards, with 2,000 ATMs operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. As a result, revenues from the card business has witnessed a record high growth. Revenues of international card services between the 2002-2006 period have increased by 50 folds. It is expected that in late 2006, revenues of international card services will reach US$200 million.
A nine fold increase in the 2002-2006 period proved a rapid and firm development of the international card payment market. The network of card acceptable units has expanded to 14,000 units. From serving foreign visitors and businessmen, working in Vietnam, the network now serve Vietnamese people. Apart from its quantity development, the network has seen a change for the better in quality. In the past, units in the network operated manually. Now, up to between 80 and 90 per cent of card accepting machines accept electronic cards.
Addressing a ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of VBCA, Le Duc Thuy, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, stressed that VBCA should be the focal point for promoting co-operation within the whole system to develop advantages of each bank or each group of banks to attract more customers and develop further the Vietnamese card market.
The final target of VBCA is to develop new members, making a contribution to promoting non-cash payment in the Vietnamese economy, thus helping develop more convenience for the social life and helping Vietnamese banks successful integrate.
Nguyen Thu Ha
Chairman of VBCA
Vietnamese
