Citibank Vietnam last week marked its entry in the local debit card market with the launch of Visa debit cards in HCMC. Unlike credit cards that allow holders to spend money in advance and pay off the credit later, Citibank Visa debit cardholders can withdraw cash and make payment based on the actual balance in their bank accounts only. The bank’s debit cards are expected to help local card users... 

Mekong Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (MDB) on Tuesday launched its debit card using fingerprint recognition technology, marking the presence of the first biometrics-enabled debit card ever in the country. The bank has implemented Temenos T24 Biometric fingerprint authentication to provide the unbanked population of Vietnam with access to banking services. MDB is already running the bank... 

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will this year complete all related legal frameworks for the use of plastic money – credit and debit cards, as well as other forms of electronic payment. It will also release national criteria for the issuance of domestic credit cards and implement a project to develop automatic payment systems for retail banking services. These steps will be taken as part of the... 

Wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry (Metro) Vietnam on Saturday signed agreements with Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and Visa Worldwide Pte Limited to allow customers to pay by debit and credit card. With the agreements in place, the Metro Cash & Carry stores in Vietnam will accept local debit cards (or ATM cards), and international debit and credit cards... 

HSBC has launched a new Platinum Visa credit card and introduced the reduced varied administration fees for foreign currency transactions made with the bank’s credit and debit cards. Sumit Dutta, HSBC Vietnam’s CEO, said both new customers and existing customers who chose to upgrade from their Gold Visa card to platinum would continue to enjoy the convenience, top-grade security and global recognition... 

Together with the dollar price increasing on both, the official and black markets, the foreign currency conversion fees have also escalated. This explains why people do not want to use international payment cards when traveling abroad as encouraged by the State Bank of Vietnam. The Asia Commercial Bank ACB is now charging the foreign currency conversion fee of 6 percent, while it previously charged... 

A mini survey conducted by Nielsen Holdings shows that banking services are still little-known among local people, meaning banks still have a great opportunity for market development. The Vietnam Personal Finance Monitor released on Monday revealed that most consumers were aware of basic banking services but few of them actually use such services, while for more advanced services, few people were... 

Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank) and Saigon Fuel Corporation (SFC) on Wednesday signed a deal that enables all consumers to pay for petroleum and certain public services through an e-card. Consumers can use VietinBank’s E-fast card to purchase petroleum at any retail points of SFC as well as pay for bus fees, road charges and certain entertainment services without having to have... 

American Express on Monday launched an online financial transactions service that it claims goes beyond what others provide in a market dominated by PayPal. “Serve” went live in the United States and was to expand to other countries in the coming year. “Serve is a new type of payment platform that isn’t tied to a single card or mobile operating system,” said American... 

Commercial banks are now prioritising increased profits from card payment services as the domestic market now has 28.5 million bank cards which are mainly used just for cash withdrawals. “If the issuing of cards continues to spread at its current rate, the market will be awash with idle and useless cards. Banks should focus on developing the quality of their services and extract value from their...