Banks push cashless payments for Tết shopping sprees

HÀ NỘI — Commercial banks are offering promotional programmes to encourage cashless payments during the busy Tết shopping season. Other commercial banks like the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), VPBank and TPBank now also let users send “lì xì” (lucky money) through their apps. Commercial banks are also running promotional programmes to facilitate cashless transactions for household businesses and traders at traditional street markets. Cahsless payment services have also helped reduce demand for cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) ahead of Tết, cutting down on wait times at the machines. According to the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), cash withdrawals from ATMs have been declining over the past year.