‘Cashless Town,’ a part of the 2023 Cashless Day, will kick off on Friday in Ho Chi Minh City as the first such event in Vietnam, where all deals for goods or services will be paid without cash while payers will be offered various incentives.  

The preparations for the Cashless Town have been accelerated so that the unique event can be opened on Friday, June 16, the annual Cashless Day, which was initiated by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in 2019 to help promote non-cash payment practices and build a non-cash society in Vietnam.

The Cashless Day, jointly organized by the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department and Tuoi Tre, will focus on 'Data Connection, Smart Payment' in response to the government’s plan for the promotion of digital transformation and data connectivity this year.

At dawn on Monday, workers erected a large stage for the Cashless Town festival on Le Loi Boulevard near Ben Thanh Market in downtown District 1, while 12-ton trucks carrying facilities and equipment to the site streamed in all morning.

About 50 workers have been trying to complete the work for the three-day festival and they could work overnight to ensure the work progress, according to the event’s organizers.

The Cashless Town simulates a miniature society that meets all the demands for financial services, public services, dining, sightseeing, and entertainment, and all relevant payment transactions take place quickly and conveniently via automated teller machine (ATM) cards or just after a touch on a payment app.

Visitors to Cashless Town will enjoy culinary and shopping experiences at dozens of stalls from famous brands and participate in a series of exciting entertainment activities such as karaoke, gift exchanges, and sketch paintings.

They can also seize the opportunity to open a bank card with extremely preferential limits from major banks accompanying the program. 

During the days, users of cashless payment methods will enjoy various preferential programs from banks and credit institutions, retailers, and service providers. 

Saigon - Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has said it will give thousands of gifts such as piggy banks, mini hand-held fans, raincoats, umbrellas, T-shirts, and suitcases, among others, to customers who open accounts, make online savings, or participate in games at their booth during the festival.

Similarly, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) said it will give 3,000 gifts to festival-goers such as water bottles, teddy bears, hats, and T-shirts.

MoMo e-wallet said that customers who come to experience MoMo's coffee carts at the festival can drink coffee for only VND1,000 (US$0.04) that is paid via scanning a cashless payment, and that all the revenue will be used to build a library.

In addition, MoMo will also offer gifts to customers through its Lucky Spinning Wheel program.

Meanwhile, many other banks and their accompanying units will offer their 'rains of gifts' to customers experiencing their cashless payment methods at the event.

In addition, festival-goers will have a chance to enjoy exciting music shows after 8:00 pm every day on all three days of the event, along with exchange sessions with beauty queens.

In addition, Gen C (Cashless Generation) customers who check in at Cashless Town will have the opportunity to win attractive presents worth up to VND1 million ($43) each.

Along with the Cashless Town, there will be several other key events within the framework of the Cashless Day, including the 'Cashless Warriors' contest that will last until July 15, whose results will be announced on July 21. 

Contestants are required to make short videos showing at least three cashless transactions and their comments on the practical benefits that they can enjoy from those transactions.

Another attractive event will be the Big Boom promotional program slated for June 16, when consumers can purchase goods with incentives from sellers and intermediary payment service providers, and take part in other attractive activities offered by banks, card issuers, e-wallet companies, and retailers.

The 'Data Connection, Smart Payment to Promote Social Development' national conference is scheduled to take place on June 16 at the Rex Hotel in District 1, with about 400 invited guests.

Cashless payment activities have continued developing robustly in Vietnam during the first quarter of the year, with the number of transactions through the interbank electronic payment system growing 8.55 percent year on year, while payments made through Point of Sale (POS) venues increased 37.57 percent in volume and 32.09 percent in value, according to national radio Voice of Vietnam.

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