East Asia & Pacific · GDP rank #30
Vietnam
VN · VND @ 0.0000379/USD
Tab 03
Rails & infrastructure
The instant rail, the RTGS spine, the card switch, the direct-debit scheme, and the country's CBDC stance. Each rail is reported with operator, launch year, and 2024 flow so the relative scale across rails is readable at a glance.
CBDC status is deliberately granular: live, pilot, preparation, live stalled, and sceptical, no pilot are different things.
Digital đồng (research)
Target · no pilot announced
SBV Research Division confirmed CBDC research since 2022; no pilot. SBV strategic document flagged retail CBDC as lower priority versus financial inclusion via Mobile Money and NAPAS rails.
Instant payments
NAPAS 247
The instant leg typically carries the vast majority of retail consumer flow in modern payment systems — and sits in direct tension with card networks and wallets for the same transactions.
NAPAS 247 is the 24/7 interbank rail under VietQR; transactions grew 34% in 2024 with NAPAS forecasting +24% volume and +8% value in 2025.
- Operator
- NAPAS (National Payment Corporation of Vietnam)
- Live since
- 2.0k
- Per-txn limit
- 3,000,000,000 VND
- Fee per txn
- VND 0 for consumers (free bank-to-bank since SBV circular 2023)
Transactions · 2024
Cleared value · 2024
Participating institutions
RTGS
Citad (IBPS — Central Bank Vietnam RTGS)
The RTGS spine clears high-value interbank flow — including the settlement of the instant-rail cycles and card-network net positions. Transaction count is modest; cleared value is enormous.
- Operator
- State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)
Transactions · 2024
Cleared value · 2024
Card switch
NAPAS
National Payment Corporation of Vietnam — state-owned switch (65% SBV + 35% commercial banks); operates domestic routing, card scheme, and NAPAS 247.
Source · NAPAS
Direct debit
Interbank direct debit via NAPAS
Direct debit is the boring rail that carries recurring subscriptions, utilities, and payroll pull-payments. It is routinely the largest single channel by count after cards.
Transactions · 2024