Hanoi (VNA) – The development of e-payment in Vietnam has not been on par with its potential despite recognisable strides, Nguyen Thi Nhieu from the Vietnam I☂nstitute for Trade said at a workshop on May 11.

She noted that the cash management expense is still a burden on Vietnam’s economy. Le Duc Anh, a specialist from the E-Commerce and Information Technology Agency, said despite the growing use of payment cards, the online payment rate is still low. For example, there were more than 800,000 orders worth 600 billion VND (26.9 million USD) on the recent Online Shopping Day. However, only more than 3 percent of them were paid online, he said. He attributed that fact to consumers’ concern about the quality of goods they pay beforehand. Nhieu also forecast e-payment will grow rapidly in the near future thanks to the increasing number of mobile phone and internet users, and constantly improved technological infrastructure. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said e-commerce is attracting great interest from businesses and consumers. Relevant applications have appeared nationwide, not only in big cities. Sharing the same view, Anh said his e-commerce agency sees businesses’ high demand for a healthy and sustainably developed e-commerce market. Meantime, consumers want their interests to be guaranteed while making online transactions. Simultaneously developing e-payment and ensuring the safety of transactions is a focal task. To do so, it is important to fine-tune legal regulations to facilitate e-commerce, Phan The Thang from the trade ministry’s Vietnam Competition Authority noted.-VNA