A customer conducting transactions via mobile banking app. Thirty seven commercial banks have confirmed the reduction of fees for interbank fund trasfers.

This aimed to promote cashless payments as a measure to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

NAPAS on Wednesday started to cut its service fees for electronic switching for local banks from VND1,800 to VND900 per transaction of sums worth VND500,001 to VND2 million each, which enabled local banks to reduce the interbank fund transfer fees to customers.

The thirty-seven commercial banks which slashed their fees accounted for 98.9 per cent of the total fund transfer transactions processed by NAPAS.

Of them, 14, accounting for 41.9 per cent of fund transfer transactions processed by NAPAS cut their fees to zero for transactions conducted on all money transfer channels, namely Techcombank, TBBank, MBBank, VPBank, MSB, PvcomBank, Viet Capital Bank, OCB, BaoViet Bank, Hong Leong Bank, SeaBank, Eximbank and UOB. Shinhan Bank offered zero charges for transactions via Internet and Mobile banking.

The other 23 banks cut their fees more or equal to the NAPAS’s fee reduction. Their fees now ranged from VND1,000 to VND10,000 depending on customers and transaction channels.

In mid-February, NAPAS cut the fee for electronic switching from VND1,800 to VND500 per transaction for sums worth VND500,000 or less, which made 43 out of 45 member banks of NAPAS cut fees for customers by 90 per cent. Some even offered zero charges.

A representative from NAPAS said that reducing fees would significantly affect NAPAS’s revenue but cutting fees would be critical to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, promote cashless payment and create favourable conditions for e-commerce and online shopping.

The total number of fast interbank fund transfer transactions of sums worth VND500,000 and less in March increased more than 32 per cent over February.

Free for donations

The State Bank of Viet Nam has asked commercial banks to offer zero charges for banking transfers of sums donated to the fight against COVID-19 and support people affected by the drought and salinity intrusion in Mekong Delta provinces.

Accordingly, fund transfers to the banking accounts of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee No 1483201009159 at Agribank for donations to fight against COVID-19 and 0011001932418 at Vietcombank for donations to cope with the drought and salinity would be free of charge. — VNS