First Vietnamese bank allows transactions in RoK for local card holders

All TPBank’s ATM cardholders could immediately implement payment and withdrawal transactions at some three million locations accepting card payments and nearly 40,000 ATMs in the RoK. (Photo courtesy of the bank )

Hanoi - TPBank has become the first Vietnamese bank to allow all domestic cardholders to make payment and withdrawal transactions in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in addition to international debit cards or credit cards.

TPBank, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) and BC Card – the largest credit card network in the RoK with more than a quarter market share – successfully implemented the project to connect trans-international payment services.

Accordingly, all TPBank’s ATM cardholders can immediately implement payment and withdrawal transactions at some three million locations accepting card payments and nearly 40,000 ATMs in the RoK.

With the service, TPBank has helped customers completely eliminate worries of having to buy foreign currency in time to open an international debit card or credit card for travelling, business trips or transferring money to their children to study in the RoK. Moreover, keeping a local card in their wallet for direct payments via POS machines or withdrawing an amount of spending money at an ATM when needed will be much safer than carrying a large amount of foreign currency.

Nguyen Hung, TPBank General Director, said: “Through this project, TPBank hopes to bring the best services and experiences to Vietnamese customers who have been living, working, studying and travelling in the RoK as well as contribute to promoting the Viet Nam – RoK strategic cooperation partnership.”

He added that with the dynamism, enthusiasm and the forefront in applying new technologies, TPBank is expected to join State agencies to expand this feature in other countries such as Thailand, China and Japan to give customers the best experience when using their bank's services.

In recent years, the RoK has become one of the most popular destinations for Vietnamese to travel, work and study. The Korea Tourism Board said that in 2019 there were more than half a million Vietnamese travelling in the RoK, representing a 22 percent year-on-year increase. The number of Vietnamese students studying in the country has reached 37,426 people, an increase of more than 10,000 compared to 2018.

In 2020, tourism activities from Vietnam to the RoK were interrupted due to COVID-19. However, when the pandemic is controlled, the number of Vietnamese tourists travelling to the country will increase again. The RoK has also implemented many policies to support Vietnamese students.

According to statistics from the Payment Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, by the end of the second quarter of 2020, the total number of cards in circulation in Vietnam reached more than 106 million, of which the number of domestic cards accounted for more than 90 million, nearly six times the number of credit cards. At TPBank, the growth rate of cards is always very high, at 50 percent a year compared to the market.