Vietnam is expanding cross‑border QR payments to make transactions easier for international visitors and businesses. Understanding this shift helps you see how paying or selling in Vietnam could become faster, cheaper and more secure.

According to Ngo Xuan Bach, Chairman of the Board of Directors of City House Vietnam, foreign tourists still mostly pay by card and cash. Cash requires staff to handle, count, exchange and give change, while cards bring transaction fees and sometimes fail.

At City House, 100 % of domestic tourists have already used QR codes. Ngo Xuan Bach says that cross‑border QR can reshape how firms operate by cutting direct staff handling and by allowing automatic reconciliation through APIs.

Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department at the State Bank of Vietnam, explains that VietQRGlobal is a component of the national digital payment system, but only about 154,000 of more than 2.5 million domestic acceptance units accept it. Nguyen Dang Hung, Deputy CEO of NAPAS, adds that VietQRPay now involves 45 participating banks and that VietQRGlobal is linked with Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, widening its regional reach.

Several commercial banks are already building acceptance points along travel routes. BIDV is developing connections from airports to hotels and shopping areas, while VietinBank is targeting retail chains and tourism hubs. Agribank plans to launch VietQRGlobal in October 2026 to serve agricultural, rural and tourist customers.

Security experts warn that point‑of‑sale QR codes can be swapped to steal money and that cross‑border data flows raise privacy risks. Ngo Tuan Anh advises users to verify beneficiary names, avoid unknown apps and ensure data processors follow protection procedures.