Currently, all wards in Hai Chau District, Da Nang are focussing on coordinating with relevant agencies to deploy and replicate the cashless payment street model, in order to create a habit of modern payment methods, thus significantly contributing to boosting digital transformation in the city, a step to turn Da Nang into a smart city.

A recent ceremony to open Huynh Thuc Khang cashless payment street. Photo: HOANG HIEP

In fact, change has reached a tipping point in Viet Nam, crowding out more traditional forms of shopping, consumption, and especially payment. The shift toward a swifter and more streamlined shopping experience built around what the consumer needs.

At the beginning of April 2023, Huynh Thuc Khang, a specialised nosh catering street in Nam Duong Ward, Hai Chau District, Da Nang, turned itself into a cashless payment street.

Accordingly, a total of 75 family-run businesses offering food service and consumer goods along Huynh Thuc Khang Street respond to cashless payment methods. All off them are eligible for preferential policies from local businesses, credit institutions, payment intermediaries and service providers.

To mark the debut of the cashless payment street, the Nam Duong Ward’s administration held a fair featuring 12 stalls that sell Vietnamese goods with cashless payment applied there, attracting a large number of visitors.

In particular, all customers can experience cashless payment methods, in which many people experience using smartphones to scan QR codes to pay online when buying products and get to know the price and information, and origin of the product as well.

Chairman of Nam Duong Ward People's Committee Nguyen Phuc Bao Nam said: "The implementation of a cashless payment route in the breakfast speciality street Huynh Thuc Khang creates opportunities for people in the ward to experience and enjoy preferential policies from credit institutions, payment intermediaries, service providers, and at the same time creating a habit of non-cash payment’.

The Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) guides the establishments’ owners how to use devices in support for cashless payment in tandem with issuing preferential policies for them in a bid to encourage the use of online payment methods.

Lieutenant Colonel Phan Thi Khanh Trang, Director of the South Da Nang Branch of MB said: “In MB's application installed on smartphones, there is a payment tool with QR code of the account and is saved to perform all transactions, greatly shortening the time and minimizing the payment process. We have guided the use of utilities as well as preferential policies for family-run households. At the same time, we are highly committed to providing customers with the most convenient and fast digital payment experience."

Stores and shops along Nguyen Huu Tho Street in Hoa Thuan Tay Ward, Hai Chau District also recently started going cashless with the companionship of the Da Nang branch of Viet Nam's Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel).

Nguyen Huu Tho route passing through Hoa Thuan Tay Ward has a a large numbers of business facilities trading in food, consumer goods, fashion, handicrafts, catering and telecommunications services, along with convenience stores and supermarkets.

Viettel Da Nang has worked with the ward’s authorities to guide the management, payment, and use of applications and QR code scanning devices at family-run business.

According to the People's Committee of Hoa Thuan Tay Ward, up to now, 100% of business establishments along Nguyen Huu Tho Street have implemented a cashless payment route model, contributing to gradually changing people's habits, towards cashless payment in the ward as well as the city’s digital transformation journey.

Chairman of Thanh Binh Ward People's Committee Vo Duy Lam said that the ward has also implemented a cashless payment street model on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street.

The implementation of this model not only aims to encourage consumers and businesses to use cashless payment means when shopping as well as creating opportunities for family-run businesses are entitled to preferential policies when using non-cash payment services and support production and business associated with the city's digital transformation programme.

Till date, all 47 family-run service providers on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street have implemented the cashless payment street model.

Vice Chairman of Hai Chau District People's Committee Phan Thi Thang Loi said that since 2022, the district has piloted a cashless payment street model along some main streets of the district. Based on the encouraging results, 2023, the district is deploying to the replication of the cashless payment street model in 13 wards.

In the immediate future, each ward will coordinate with non-cash payment service providers to choose at least 1-2 streets to mobilise family-run businesses to deploy the model in tandem with encouraging local residents and visitors to apply cashless payment methods whilst shopping.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by A.THU