Multiple vendors at iconic Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City were provided with Quick-Response (QR) codes on Wednesday afternoon to serve cashless transactions, as part of the city’s efforts to promote the adoption of digital payments.

Representatives of the municipal People’s Committee, the Department of Industry and Trade, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), and the market management board granted 90 VietQR codes to the vendors, on the occasion of the 2023 Cashless Day, which is hosted annually on June 16 by the media outlet.

Vendors at the remaining 1,400 stalls at the market will be provided with the VietQR codes in the upcoming period.

Ben Thanh Market was chosen as a location to promote the adoption of cashless payments to offer visitors a convenient payment option, woo more domestic and international tourists to the market, as well as enable businesses operating at the market to reduce operating expenses such as costs for hiring staff, according to Nguyen Duy An, vice-chairman of the District 1 administration.

He said the district will expand the adoption to other markets in the area.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, a vendor who has run his business for over 20 years at the market, said he had installed a POS machine at his stall to satisfy the rising demand for cashless payments among shoppers.

Receiving the VietQR code would help speed up transactions and limit a number of risks associated with cash payments, such as fake cash or lost cash, Hung said.

Ngo Thi Ai Van, owner of a baggage stall, expressed her thanks after being presented with a VietQR code from Tran Xuan Toan, deputy editor-in-chief at Tuoi Tre, saying that the code would make transactions less time-consuming and more convenient.

Dinh Quang Tuan, who has offered watches and glasses for sale at the market for more than 18 years, was happy getting a VietQR code, which was believed to attract more shoppers to his stall.

Tuan said that the demand for online payments began soaring after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Making non-cash payments with the QR code would save more time than using the bank transfer that he was adopting, Tuan said.

Echoing Tuan’s views, Tran Minh Quan, another beneficiary of the QR code provision, believed that shoppers would prefer this payment method to cash.​

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