StoxPlus is pleased to introduce our first issue of Vietnam Bank Card report. This issue is expected to be released annually, covering most up-to-date card data on the market.

This issue details how the card market has developed exponentially since 2002, after the introduction of card system in Vietnam. The competitive dynamics have been thoroughly ratified. This picture with domination of debit card has not changed, but is expected to gradually shift with the changes in consumer behavior. Technology and infrastructure have become more critical, therefore, the report also highlights the rise of infrastructure and technology advancement and its applications in bank card market. To gain a deeper understanding of the attributes that customers value, we surveyed the products offered by selected financial institutions.

Below are the most critical findings in our first issue:

1)      The number of bank cards in circulation in Vietnam has recorded a double-digit growth rate in the past 6 years, and reached 90.4 million at YE2015. Total card number is growing exponentially at CAGR of 26.56%, with debit card being the dominant type. State-owned commercial banks (SOCBs) make up 66% of total cards circulating in Vietnam. Among SOCBs, Vietinbank is the most popular card issuer with over 19.3million cards by all types.

2)      ATM and POS systems have been growing extensively at two-digit in the past 5 years. The growth rate of ATM and POS system has been 25 – 30% in the past 5 years, reaching 16,855 ATM and over 217,000 Point of Sales (“POS”) by YE2015. However, the distribution and coverage of ATM and POS system are still far below our peer countries.

3)      Card revenue has surged with CAGR of 19.7% over the period 2011 – 2015, reaching US$74.4bn by YE2015. Unlike other countries, card revenue growth in Vietnam is mainly contributed by money withdrawal fee at ATM.

4)      Revenue generated by local card marks up 89.42% of total card revenue. Cash withdrawal and money transfer are the two most popular transactions, aggregately accounting for 98.4% total local card revenue. Transaction revenue at ATM is leading, accounting for over 88% of total transaction revenue.

5)      With the majority of card revenue from Debit Card, SOCBs such as Vietcombank, Vietinbank and Agribank are leading the market in terms of card revenue, accounting for 58% market share. The rest are top performing Tier I banks.

6)      Visa Inc. is clearly leading the market. According to our interviews with banking experts, number of Visa card accounts for over 70% of total international cards, followed by MasterCard (20%) and the rest of other card operators such as UnionPay, American Express, JCB (10%).

7)      Bank card market is seen as very promising for investors in upcoming period. The key growth drivers of bank card market include the rising of middle class and affluent customers, the developing banking system with low level of penetration at rural areas, and potentials generating from new development of card technologies.

8)      However, local bank card market is still facing many big challenges such as the cash-consumption habit of citizen, the under- development of POS system, the lack of policy guidance and enforcement from the Government, and high fee put upon each card user. To develop bank card in Vietnam, there are still lots of market education efforts required for commercial banks and policy makers.

Download Report Preview Here