Visa announced on May 16 a partnership with Vietnamese fintech company SmartPay that will help offer digital payment solutions to Vietnam’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

Together, Visa and SmartPay will empower SMEs and MSMEs with essential tools such as points-of-sale (POS) terminals that they need to compete in the burgeoning digital payment era.

“As I connect with our partners here in Vietnam, I am delighted to see their commitment to expanding payments options, enabling consumers to benefit from a wider range of choice and convenient digital solutions,” said Ms. Jeni Mundy, Global Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring (MSA) at Visa.

Mr. Marek Forysiak, SmartPay’s Chairman, said a lack of infrastructure, especially POS terminals, is becoming a profound challenge for SMEs to keep up with the digital transformation taking place in Vietnam. “Demand for POS devices in the second quarter of 2022 was about 1.2 million, and SmartPay’s goal in the next three years is to provide 325,000 devices, or nearly 30 per cent of the total market share,” he added. “This partnership is part of a broader effort by Visa and SmartPay to make cashless payments more accessible in Vietnam by expanding the number of merchants equipped with SmartPOS to accept non-cash payments, especially Visa card payments. It will give merchants payment solutions that can boost their competitiveness in the digital era.”

While cash use is still widespread in Vietnam, consumers are increasingly turning to cashless payment options. According to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2022, cash usage has fallen from 2021 while 89 per cent of respondents said they use mobile wallets and 85 per cent use credit and debit cards.

According to the study findings, 79 per cent of consumers expressed dissatisfaction with the limited payment options available at small retailers, while 74 per cent emphasized the urgent need for small retailers to embrace a wider array of digital payment methods. These insights into public opinion point to a substantial untapped opportunity for SMEs and MSMEs to effectively broaden their customer base and significantly enhance sales performance.

What is happening in Vietnam is part of a global trend towards the digitalization of payments. Visa’s Global Back to Business study released last year showed that 73 per cent of small businesses surveyed said accepting new forms of digital payments was fundamental to growth. Furthermore, 59 per cent of small businesses said they already, or plan to, use only digital payments within the next two years, while 41 per cent of consumers said the same.

“Small businesses can build on this foundation of digital capabilities to find new growth and thrive,” said Ms. Dung Dang, Visa Country Manager for Vietnam and Laos. “Payments are not just about completing a sale, but rather about creating a convenient and secure experience that reflects a company’s brand across platforms and benefits both the business and the consumer.”

Visa has spearheaded a range of impactful initiatives aimed at supporting small businesses to embrace digital payments and attain increased participation in the digital economy. Notably, it has already surpassed the halfway mark of its objective to digitize 50 million SMEs across the globe. Amid the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, small businesses fortified their digital capabilities, from contactless transactions to e-commerce, a transformation that facilitated their adaptation and resilience, enabling them to navigate through an unprecedented economic event.

SmartPay has been providing cashless payment solutions such as SmartQR and SmartPOS, business management solutions such as SmartShop, and integrating OPOS sales management software on SmartPOS devices. SmartPay also opens opportunities for merchants to seek business loans, supports them to grow sales with Buy Now, Pay Later plans, and improves the operations process with the SmartBox product, which is a Soundbox that notifies retailers immediately when any Scan-to-Pay transaction is successful. By the end of 2022, SmartPay was actively serving more than 700,000 merchants and a community of more than 40 million users nationwide.