January 14, 2025, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) successfully organized the "2025 Mission Implementation Conference". The event welcomed the participation of Mr. Pham Anh Tuan – Director of the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung – Secretary General of the Vietnam Banks Association, along with representatives from SBV's functional departments, the Government Office, the Ministry of Public Security, NAPAS' Board of Directors, Board of Supervisors, and key personnel.

In his opening speech, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung – Chairman of NAPAS' Board of Directors, emphasized the numerous regulatory and policy changes in the payment sector during 2024, including Decree 52/2024/ND-CP, Circulars 17 and 18, and other circulars concerning cashless payments. Notably, since July 1, 2024, banks and payment intermediaries have implemented biometric authentication following Decision 2345 and Circular 50 issued by the Governor of the SBV. These fundamental changes lay the groundwork for enhancing security and confidentiality in online payments and fostering the sustainable development of Vietnam’s payment systems. Under the guidance of the SBV and its Board of Directors, NAPAS has proactively collaborated with member organizations to deploy new technological solutions to promote the development of national retail payment infrastructure, perfecting the digital payment ecosystem through VietQR codes, bank cards, accounts, e-wallets, and mobile money services, contributing to promoting the overall growth of the entire industry.

Director of the Payment Department of SBV, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, spoke at the conference

Following this, Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh – General Director of NAPAS, presented a summary of operations for 2024 and outlined the operational directions for 2025. According to his report, the NAPAS system processed 9.56 billion transactions, marking an approximately 30% increase in transaction volume and a 14.4% rise in transaction value compared to 2023. Among these, the NAPAS 247 fast money transfer service saw a respective 33.5% increase in transaction volume and a 14.9% rise in transaction value. Additionally, the NAPAS 247 fast transfer service using VietQR codes experienced remarkable growth, increasing by 118% compared to the same period in 2023, accounting for one-third of the total transaction volume of the NAPAS 247 fast transfer service.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung - Chairman of the Board of Directors of NAPAS spoke at the conference

In 2024, ATM transactions continued to decline significantly. ATM transactions processed through the NAPAS system decreased by 19.5% in volume and 19.1% in value compared to the same period in 2023. Up to now, ATM transactions account for only 2.63% of the total transactions processed through the NAPAS system. This trend highlights the decreasing demand for cash payments, which are being replaced by more convenient payment services such as NAPAS 247 instant transfers and money transfers/payments via VietQR codes.

In 2024, aligned with the primary objective of safely, stably, and seamlessly operating the switching and clearing infrastructure, NAPAS implemented enhanced monitoring solutions to ensure continuous system operations and processing capacity to meet the growing demand for cashless payments in the market. During peak periods, the NAPAS system processed over 35 million transactions per day, with a processing capacity of up to 3,500 transactions per second. Regarding service quality, the service level agreement (SLA) index for financial switching and electronic clearing services exceeded the committed level, reaching 99.997% in 2024. Additionally, NAPAS maintained system readiness and resource availability, preparing contingency plans for critical information systems and reinforcing a 24/7 support team to assist member organizations and enterprises during peak periods, such as holidays and the Lunar New Year.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Minh – General Director of NAPAS, presented a summary of operations for 2024 and outlined the operational directions for 2025

Regarding products and services, NAPAS achieved significant milestones in 2024 in deploying new products and services as well as expanding member organizations. Specifically:

- Cross-border QR Code Payments between Vietnam and Regional Countries: NAPAS completed QR payment connectivity between Vietnam and Laos for seven Vietnamese banks and 14 Lao banks; and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UnionPay International (UPI) to implement cross-border QR payment services between Vietnam and China. Additionally, NAPAS expanded its connections with Vietnamese commercial banks to offer QR code payment services between Vietnam and Thailand, as well as Cambodia to serve the payment needs of Vietnamese visitors working or travelling in the above countries

- Promoting NAPAS Card Payments: NAPAS has intensified various programs through payment banks, payment intermediaries, sales agents, and partners with extensive sales networks to boost payment activities. Numerous promotional programs with reputable and large-scale partners were launched over the past year to encourage spending habits via NAPAS cards. Notably, NAPAS collaborated with Mastercard to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for launching a cobadged card between NAPAS, Mastercard, and participating banks, expected to debut soon.

- Implementation of the Project to develop the application of population data, identification, and electronic authentication (Project 06): NAPAS partnered with the RAR Center and C06 to deploy social security utilities and public service payments on the VNeID application; Deploy social security payment service phase 1 to link social security numbers with bank accounts and Mobile Money accounts for 17 banks and 01 telecommunications company; Implement online payment services for public service fees/charges on VNeID, covering fees for issuing criminal records and residence services (temporary and permanent residence). Notably, the payment service for fees/charges of issuing criminal records is being expanded nationwide by the Ministry of Public Security.

- Deployment of Online Public Service Payment Solutions: NAPAS successfully executed over 1.4 million public service payment transactions with a total value exceeding VND 1 trillion, marking a 210% growth in transaction volume and a 128% increase in transaction value compared to 2023. Additionally, NAPAS expanded payment services to cover 10 groups of public services, added connections with 12 more banks, and increased the number of entities accepting VietQR payments on the National Public Service Portal to 38 banks/ units; Coordinated with 71 ministries, sectors, and localities to facilitate fee payments via VietQR codes, NAPAS domestic cards, and bank accounts; Worked with the Ministry of Education and Training to collect university application fees in 2024 and successfully piloted fee collection on the Lang Son Digital Border Gate platform;

In addition to the above activities, To strengthen efforts in preventing fraudulent and deceptive transactions, NAPAS partnered with the Vietnam Banks Association to lead the development of Procedures for handling accounts and cards linked to suspicious or fraudulent transactions for banks; and supported investigation police agencies by providing transaction data and information from its system to combat cyber fraud crimes.

Speaking at the Conference, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan - Director of the Payment Department of the SBV, congratulated the leadership and staff of NAPAS for their commendable achievements in 2024. He highlighted NAPAS's efforts in promoting electronic payment services for public service groups and expanding cooperation with ministries, sectors, and localities; expanding the network of member organizations participating in service implementation, contributing to creating diversity in online public service payments for people on the National Public Service Portal as well as the VNeID application of the Ministry of Public Security. Additionally, Mr. Tuan praised NAPAS's international connectivity efforts with international card organizations under SBV regulations, including completing standard-compliant connections with JCB, UPI, and Amex, and actively promoting bilateral payment connections via QR codes between Vietnam and neighboring countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

In 2025, Director of the Payment Department Pham Anh Tuan requested NAPAS, as the entity responsible for building the national retail payment infrastructure and providing financial switching and electronic clearing services, to remain focused and effectively implement key tasks assigned by the State Bank of Vietnam. Specifically:

(i) Achieving the goals of the Banking Sector's Digital Transformation Plan by 2025, with a vision to 2030 issued in Decision No. 810/QD-NHNN by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam.  2025 is a pivotal year, and the banking system must meet many targets set by this Decision. Additionally, NAPAS should continue focusing on the content of the Vietnam Banking Sector's Information Technology Development Strategy to 2025, with a vision to 2030, as well as the Vietnam Payment System Development Strategy until 2030, where NAPAS plays a key role. Furthermore, NAPAS must closely collaborate to leverage the results of Project 06.

(ii) Actively implementing the Cashless Payment Development Project in Vietnam for the 2021–2025 period according to Decision No. 1813/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister.

(iii) Launching a bilateral payment system using QR codes with other countries. In the coming time, NAPAS needs to accelerate technical implementation and cross-border payment connections with China, Korea and Singapore. Specifically, NAPAS should prioritize facilitating foreign visitors to use VietQR codes for payment when they come to Vietnam.

(iv) Enhancing security and safety monitoring, ensure the continuous and smooth operation of the system. This is also a mandatory requirement along with the growth of electronic payment transactions. NAPAS must also strengthen coordination with relevant units to exchange information, propose solutions, and prevent and detect fraud in payment activities.

(v) Human Resources: In the context of fierce competition in the high-tech labor market, NAPAS must focus on developing policies to attract talented staff. At the same time, attention should be paid to improving employees' livelihoods and income to ensure that employees feel secure and motivated to contribute to the Company.

At the end of the conference, Mr. Nguyen Quang Hung – Chairman of NAPAS’s Board of Directors, on behalf of the leadership and entire staff of the Company, acknowledged the feedback provided by the Director of the Payment Department of the SBV to incorporate into NAPAS’s 2025 work plan, and promised to continue fostering creativity, unity, and dedication to successfully completing the assigned tasks, thus creating a strong leverage for the Company's sustainable development in the coming years.