Hanoi (VNA) –🎃 In a recent Kantar’s report (entrusted by Visa), up to 62 percent of Vietnamese consumers confirmed that the number of their transactions on online shopping platforms has seen a remarkable surge.

Visa - the global payments technology company - has rolled out a programme aiming to encourage consumers to show support to Vietnamese businesses. In addition, the company offered aid for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to go online, seizing advantages from the abrupt growth of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in the post-pandemic period. Figures of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) showed that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a record number of online shoppers, with an average of 30 million transactions being made in the country a day. In a recent report conducted by Kantar (entrusted by Visa), up to 62 percent of Vietnamese consumers confirmed that the number of their transactions on online shopping platforms had seen a remarkable surge. Meanwhile, in another report, 72 percent of consumers believed that switching to online business holds significant meaning for retailers and 75 percent noted whether retailers accepting digital payments or not is also important. Dang Tuyet Dung, Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos, said that the freshly-launched programme is part of Visa’s strategy in helping SMEs. It is the following part of a campaign striving to aid 10 million SMEs across Asia-Pacific, the Visa Foundation included 210 million USD in emergency assistance to help SMEs battle COVID-19. In Vietnam, the programme will support customers to connect with points of sale which accept cards across the country and allow SMEs to access new customers, grabbing trends of e-commerce and maximising their profits in this difficult time, she added. The transition of e-commerce and addressing barriers to digital transformation have been illustrated via the change of business owners, as 71 percent of SMEs in Vietnam said they have adapted to new methods to introduce their products and services to customers since the pandemic broke out, such as setting up e-commerce channels and in delivery. According to a Visa report, online business may be a tough nut to crack for SMEs. Therefore, the company is able to support them through collaboration with popular e-commerce partners, including Shopee - the leading e-commerce platform in South East Asia and Taiwan; and NowFood, a pioneer in food delivery operating across Vietnam. Through support for SMEs to operate and run online advertisements, along with introducing promotions for newly registered firms, Visa is boosting engagement and making digital applications easier for SMEs nationwide. Dang Hoang Minh, CEO and founder of Foody, said that during the time of the pandemic, NowFood took effective precautions for customers to enjoy their favourite dishes, which also helped restaurants and food shops to surmount this time of hardship. Consumers are using modern technologies to meet daily demand and we are delighted to team up with Visa to help online businesses more attractive in the eyes of small-scaled companies, he stated. With the support from Visa, Shopee will apply a promotion of up to 30,000 VND (1.3 USD) for holders of Visa cards with invoices worth more than 300,000 VND, in a bid to bolster sales and revenues. At the same time, NowFood witnessed fast growth in recent years, boasting 70,000 points of sale operating in 16 cities of more than 30 million people. NowFood will offer a discount code worth 20,000 VND for bills of at least 100,000 VND and 20 e-vouchers of 20,000 VND for new-registered food shops on the app. Dung added that, thanks to operating online, SMEs not only reach out to customers in urban areas, regions and countries of operations but also join in the international market which is accessed by millions of Visa cardholders worldwide./.