HCM City (VNA) - Some topexperts in payments, e-commerce and retail gave their insights into thefuture of online trading in Vietnam at a recent two-day seminar in HCM City.

The content and structure of Seamless Vietnam weredesigned to cover the entire omni-channel journey.

Participants heard experts speak about digitalmarketing, merchandising, pricing, and in-store technologies.

Others spoke about payments, staff training,multi-channel, call centres, home delivery, click & collect, supply chains,packaging, customer service, loyalty and retention, and product returns.

Attendees were from major Vietnamese banks andleading e-commerce and retail giants.

With a population of 95 million, the highestretail sales growth in Asia of 10.4 percent, an e-commerce market predicted tobe worth 10 billion USD by 2020, and a regulatory environment increasinglyopening up to foreign investment, there has never been a better time in Vietnamfor senior executives from across the e-commerce eco-system to come togetherand discuss future strategies, partnerships and solutions.

The State Bank of Vietnam kicked off theconference with a keynote address on “Moving towards a cashless society inVietnam by 2020.”

“Cashless payments have strongly increased inVietnam recently with 65 banks providing internet banking, 35 others providingmobile banking and many other credit organisations launching electronicpayments,” Tran Dinh Cuong, deputy director of the central bank’s HCM Cityoffice, said.

“The cash payment ratio has reduced to 12percent in comparison with 14 percent in 2010 and the figure will be less than10 percent by 2020.”

Le Anh Tuan, head of VietinBank’s electronicbanking division, said: “Low fees and safe, secure, fast technologies arethe two most important things to attract customers to electronic payments.”

Nguyen Phu Vinh, head of the HCM CityElectricity Corporation’s business department, said his company has alreadytied up with 22 banks and eight fintech companies to collect electricitytariffs online.

“As of the end of July there were 1.7 millioncustomers paying through banks and other credit organisations, accounting for60 percent of our revenues.

“We plan to reach 100 percent by 2020.”

On the sidelines of the conference there was anexhibition of products and services offered by major players from across thepayments, retail and e-commerce vendor communities.

It was the first time Seamless, Asia’s largestand longest running conference focused on cards and payments, was organised inVietnam. Over 400 senior executives and experts attended the event. –VNA