Digital payments continue to grow in popularity along with other digital trends post-COVID: Visa Study

05/31/2023

- Far more Vietnamese consumers used online card, mobile wallet, and QR payments in 2022 as compared to 2021.
- 90% attempted to go cashless in 2022 as compared to 77% in 2021.
- 85% of consumers tried home delivery for the first time during the pandemic, indicating surging popularity for eCommerce that will remain.

 

Visa, a world leader in digital payments, today published its latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study1 aimed at providing insights into how, where, and why Vietnamese consumers are spending their money post-COVID. The study shows that consumers are rapidly adopting a range of digital payment methods while continuing to move away from cash.

“As consumers continue to embrace digital payment methods and lifestyle trends, Visa is proud to accompany them on this journey with innovative products and services supplemented by unparalleled security” said Ms. Dung Dang, Visa Country Manager of Vietnam and Laos. “We hope the insights from our latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study will aid our local partners as they create digital-first strategies to embrace post-COVID consumer behavior. We look forward to an exciting digital future for both consumers and service providers in Vietnam.”

 

Vietnam’s increasingly digital consumers

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed consumer behavior worldwide, and Vietnam is no exception. According to Visa’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study for 2022, the percentage of Vietnamese consumers using card or mobile wallet payments increased across every category compared to 2021.

  1. 66% of consumers used online card payments last year, while 70% used online or in-app mobile wallet payments, a dramatic increase from 32% in 2021.
  2. QR payments also experienced substantial growth in usage last year, with 61% of consumers using this method, as compared to 35% in 2021.
  3. 77% believe they could go cashless for three days, and 90% attempted to go cashless at some point in 2022, as compared to 77% in 2021.

 

Taken together, this indicates a gradual shift away from cash, evidenced by the fact that consumers both carried less cash in 2022 and used it for fewer payments. The two most common reasons for carrying less cash are the possibility of losing it or having it stolen, and the fact that more businesses now support cashless payment methods.

Increased use of digital options is evident beyond payment methods as well. 90% of Vietnamese consumers are interested in virtual banking. There is enormous potential for digital banking in Vietnam, as only 30% of Vietnamese adults currently use digital banking services2. With healthy annual growth in digital payment values predicted in the coming years, businesses are on the cusp of a great opportunity to expand their services in the country.

 

 

Open banking, on the other hand, is still in its infancy in Vietnam, though 76% of consumers are aware of the concept. This is true across Southeast Asia, though Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore are in the process of developing open data frameworks to enable open banking in the future3. Vietnamese consumers are most interested in the ability of open banking to provide product and service comparisons across multiple banks, and the ability to schedule payments and transfers.

 

Post-COVID lifestyle spending trends emerge

As we move into 2023, post-COVID consumer behavior is also coming into focus. New trends have emerged in what consumers spend their money on in the retail space, and how they approach their finances overall.

The study shows that Vietnamese have embraced home delivery, with tech-enabled online payment pre-delivery being the most popular method. Overall, 85% of consumers tried home delivery for the first time during the pandemic, and in the future, they expect 8 out of 10 purchases to be made online and received via home delivery. Offering online payment and home delivery are clear needs for businesses moving forward.

New shopping habits have also emerged, with 64% of consumers purchasing more medicine and vitamins to maintain their health, while the same percentages are shopping more through large online marketplaces and home-based businesses. These spending habits reflect global post-COVID trends, in which eCommerce has grown rapidly while a majority of consumers are trying new shopping behaviors4.

Shifting saving and spending trends, meanwhile, mean businesses must adapt to different behavior. Meanwhile, 80% of consumers say they are now saving more money for the future, while 78% aim to closely plan and track monthly expenses. This indicates a widespread focus on being financially responsible, as does the nearly universal setting of monthly budgets for household expenditures. As a result, consumers are likely to reduce spending on certain items, which businesses must anticipate. On the other hand, businesses can move into areas where consumers plan to increase spending, including groceries, fashion and clothing, and staycations or domestic travel. In just one example of these changing habits, a majority of consumers traveled after January 2022, mostly domestic trips for leisure. Moving forward, businesses will need to keep pace with the many changes in consumer behavior currently underway.

“Digital payments continue to grow in popularity among consumers in Vietnam, with VisaNet data5 showing that the payment volume across all Visa payment methods in the country rose 32% year-on-year in 2022, the payment value through online transactions also rose substantially, while cross-border payment volume growth increased more than doubled compared to the previous year”, Ms. Dung Dang shared. “Moving forward, to further support consumers and strive for a digital future, Visa is proud to sponsor the annual Cashless Day organized by Tuoi Tre Newspaper and the State Bank of Vietnam on June 16, aiming to create a cashless society which aligns perfectly with Visa’s goal of promoting secure, convenient digital payments for all in Vietnam.”  

 

1 The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study was prepared by CLEAR in Sep-Oct 2022, surveyed amongst 6,550 consumers in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The study conducted online interviews with 1,000 Vietnamese consumers across the country who are working part or full time with a demographic mix that sought to create a representative mix of ages and genders.

2 PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) (2021) Payments 2025 and beyond: Evolution to revolution, PwC website.
https://www.pwc.com/vn/en/publications/2021/211025-pwc-vietnam-payments-2025-en.pdf

3 Visa (2023) Time to rethink payments strategies for 2023 (again), Visa website.

4 McKinsey & Company (2021) Emerging consumer trends in a post COVID 19 world, McKinsey & Company website. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/emerging-consumer-trends-in-a-post-covid-19-world

5 VisaNet data Jan-Mar 2023.

 

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.