The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on Thursday released the results of the 2011 Government e-Payments Adoption Ranking (GEAR) study, showing that Vietnamese Government's strong commitment in creating policy environment helps support e-payment adoption.
HA NOI — The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on Thursday released the results of the 2011 Government e-Payments Adoption Ranking (GEAR) study, showing that Vietnamese Government's strong commitment in creating policy environment helps support e-payment adoption.
The study said Viet Nam and the region were expanding their use of electronic payments as they saw its benefits.
"We have seen the Vietnamese Government's effort in creating a policy environment that helps to support e-payments adoption. Proof lies in the positive trend of policy context, including the Government's commitment to e-payment security and to integrating the informal economy. With our international experience and expertise in the payment industry, Visa also looks forward to join hand with the Viet Nam Government to deploy a sustainable payment platform and utilise the best out of e-payment benefits," said Lorijon Bacchi, country manager of Visa in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.
The GEAR study measures the extent to which governments in 62 countries provide e-payment services and the underlying factors that affect government e-payments adoption. It tracks and highlights the diversity of government e-payment systems already in place, as well as the abundant opportunities available to governments for improving e-payment services.
The EIU defines e-payments in the study as the exchange or transfer of funds over an electronic platform with various means such as payment card, direct deposit, direct debit, electronic funds transfer, and wire transfer.
There are still gains to be made, particularly in obtaining/paying for an ID card, requesting unemployment, workers' compensation and welfare benefits, and disbursement of loans to businesses.
More than half the countries in the 2011 GEAR study have developed 3G and other mobile phone technologies, including 4G. The number of mobile phone subscriptions has soared and the diffusion of broadband has grown swiftly.
For years, trust has been a key barrier to citizen adoption of government e-payments. This challenge is slowly being overcome by the rollout of new and improved e-payment security systems and government enforcement mechanisms. More than one-third of the 62 countries in the 2011 GEAR study received the highest possible score for their efforts to promote e-payment security.
The GEAR study also looks to the future, noting that as governments work toward adopting and improving e-payment services, their strategies will almost undoubtedly reflect each country's unique infrastructure and social, economic and policy context. No single approach to government e-payments adoption is universal.
Lucy Hurst, associate director of the Custom Research, Economist Intelligence Unit, said: "Two key trends the study showed us are that momentum has continued in the development of e-payments despite all the potentially derailing factors that could have constrained it, like the economic downturn and fiscal austerity measures. Secondly, the overall trend for the last five years is for governments to continue to make commitments to the development of e-payment platforms. There is increased ease and efficiency in the way citizens and businesses conduct transactions with their governments." — VNS