The ongoing Cashless Day Festival in downtown Ho Chi Minh City drew huge crowds of visitors who came to explore new digital payment methods and hunt for special offers and gifts on Saturday, creating a vibrant and joyful atmosphere in total contrast to the smoggy weather engulfing the city during the day.

The upbeat ambiance was felt across the pavilions on the second day of the festival, held from Friday through Sunday on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, with their new bank account opening services and gift-giving activities attracting the active participation of festival-goers.

Le Thi Nhung, an office worker in District 1, decided to take her kids to the festival instead of making a weekend getaway to beach cities across the country like Vung Tau or Mui Ne.

The captivating festival features lots of interactive games which help teach her kids financial literacy, Nhung elaborated.

Minor visitors also have the chance of receiving interesting gifts after playing the games, while adults like her can update and experience the latest digital payment methods at the event, she said with excitement.

Another festival-goer whose name is Mai Chung residing in Thu Duc City, an administrative district of Ho Chi Minh City, also opted to spend her weekend exploring the cashless festival.

This 33-year-old visitor shared that she was amazed by the benefits of opening new bank accounts at the festival.

Most of the banks operating booths at the event gave specific and comprehensible introductions about their products and services, Chung said.

Tran Phu, a visitor hailing from Go Vap District, said the Face Payment technology, a popular cashless payment method employing AI-powered facial authentication, impressed him the most.

Phu revealed that he often gets tired of forgetting his passwords and having to reset them many times.

But now, his payment experience would become more seamless thanks to the facial authentication feature, he said.

With the theme ‘Promoting the Development of Safe Cashless Payments,' the 2024 Cashless Day Festival is among a series of events supporting the 2024 Cashless Day (June 16), gathering commercial banks, ecommerce companies, intermediary payment service providers, businesses majoring in fashion, food, consumer products, and utility firms.

The initiative is spearheaded by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade and the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Aside from exploring new payment methods, festival-goers can enjoy music performances featuring popular Vietnamese singers including Phuong Vy, Luu Huong Giang, Ricky Star, and Trong Hieu between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm during the festival.

The event series will also include the Shopping Season program set to last from June 15 to September 15 at most of the trade centers and supermarkets in the southern metropolis.

Below are photos of visitors exploring the cashless festival on its second day:

Pavilions offer a vast array of gifts at the Cashless Day Festival held on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, June 15, 2024. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Military-run e-wallet Viettel Money hosts interactive games and offers countless gifts to visitors. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Festival-goers can get detailed and comprehensible information about products and services of participating banks by touring the festival. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Visitors try digital banking services offered by Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB Bank). Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A large number of visitors expressed their satisfaction with time-saving and seamless bank card services provided by most of the pavilions at the festival. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

A child visitor experiences a digital payment service at the event. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

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