HANOI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam aimded to reduce cash transactions to less than 10 percent of the country's total market transactions by 2020, local media reported on Tuesday.
A decision signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue encouraged cash-free transactions in order to reduce the number of cash-based deals, improve overall electronic payment methods and stem tax evasion, according to the local Vietnam News online newspaper.
Under the plan, all supermarkets, shopping malls and distributors would accept credit cards; 70 percent of water, electronics and telecommunication service providers would accept cash-free payments from households and individuals, and 50 percent of total urban households would use electronic payment for daily transactions.
The policy also proposes the development of new payment methods for rural and remote areas in order to encourage financial inclusion and increase overall access to transaction services, so that at least 70 percent of Vietnamese over the age of 15 would have bank accounts by the end of 2020.
Social welfare and pensions would also be paid through electronic payment.
A single purchase
