Smartlink Card Services Joint Stock Co (Smartlink) has announced the expansion of its ATM/POS network to join with that of Banknetvn for 6 local banks as part of a preparation for the merger into Banknetvn by the year-end.

They include VCCB, KienLongBank, MDB, Shinhan Vietnam Bank, OCB Lienvietpostbank.

The move, linking the ATM/POS networks of those banks with a network of more than 16,000 ATMs and 105,000 PO, is to prepare for the future merger of Smartlink to be merged into Banknetvn.

Accordingly, through the Smartlink system, the cardholders of those banks will be able to make cash transactions and balance inquiries at more than 16,000 ATMs of banks under the networks of Smartlink and Banknetvn.

In addition, they will also be allowed to make the payments for goods and services in 105,000 POS in commercial centers, supermarkets, restaurants, and hotels across the country.

According Smartlink, the deployment of the new ATM / POS interconnected systems with Banknetvn for banks is an important foundation to prepare for the merger of 2 Smartlink - Banknetvn as directed by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

Earlier, on November 7, 2012, the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the merger. A source from SBV said the move will mark the first step of merging three local bank card alliances in the market into one, which will be called Banknetvn.

The third card alliance, VINA Smart Card Joint Stock Co (VNBC), is expected to join the Banknetvn network this year. As a result, by the end of this year, there may be only one bank card alliance, Banknetvn, in which SBV owns 25 percent stake.

In the first 6 months of 2013, Smartlink system has successfully processed 33.4 million transactions on the ATM / POS, 114 percent growth over the same period in 2012.

Total value of transactions conducted through the Smartlink system reached VND34 trillion, an increase of 126 percent compared to the same period in 2012.