Besides ensuring that social policy beneficiaries are entitled to enjoy full, quick, accurate and transparent payments, the implementation of non-cash payment of social benefits has also revealed shortcomings as this method of payment is still new for the majority of people, especially those living in mountainous districts.

Nguyen Thi Linh Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA), said that thanks to the attention and drastic measures of administrations at all levels, people’s consensus in shifting to non-cash payment and coordination of service providers, the implementation of non-cash payments to social policy beneficiaries has achieved certain results. This method of payment has been multiplied throughout the province since May this year after evaluating the pilot results in Hoa Binh city.

Kim Boi and Yen Thuy districts and Hoa Binh city are localities that have carried out non-cash payments to social policy beneficiaries on a large scale. Specifically, 8,388 out of 10,380 beneficiaries get benefits via their personnel accounts, reaching 80.8%.

The remaining districts are piloting payments in two or three communes per district via bank accounts for 3,398 out of 4,195 people, reaching 81%.

There are three service providers in the province namely Viettel, Agribank, and Post Office. As of October 15, 2023, over 13,000 beneficiaries have been enabled to open bank accounts, accounting for 37.8% of those receiving social benefits in the locality.

According to Do Anh Chien, Head of the Social Protection Division under the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA), there are some difficulties relating to opening accounts for social policy beneficiaries.

For example, both beneficiaries and authorised persons must be present to sign the documents regarding cases involved in authorising someone to act on their behalf. However, some people can’t complete the procedures because they can’t move.

On the other hand, the habit of using cash or being reluctant to accept new technology, and concerns about safety and security when using online payments are still quite common, he said. The network and payment infrastructure of service providers concentrates mainly in urban areas.

Chien held that there are still some shortcomings related to understanding and utilising the card's benefits, adding that the fee for each withdrawal at an ATM is also a cause of concern for card users.

According to Ngoc, non-cash payment for social policy beneficiaries is a specific activity that is in line with the province's digital transformation programme and the national digital transformation trend, thereby gradually bringing convenience for management agencies and beneficiaries as all transactions are strictly controlled.

In the coming time, the department will promote the dissemination work to target audiences and the community about the benefits of shifting to non-cash payment. The dissemination is carried out synchronously in various forms such as district-level radio and television stations, commune radio stations, loudspeakers in hamlets and residential groups, and a network of social work collaborators so that people can understand the guidelines and policies of the Party and State, and the benefits of non-cash payment method. It will coordinate with commercial banks, post offices, and socio-political organisations to encourage social policy beneficiaries to open accounts and consent to shift from cash to online payment.

The department proposed the provincial People's Committee to direct relevant agencies such as the justice and banking sectors to have specific instructions for cases that face obstacles in opening accounts to create favourable conditions for beneficiaries in using the service, she said.

Ngoc went on to say that it is necessary for Hoa Binh to devise several payment options such as payment via bank account/e-wallet and free cash withdrawal fee at post office transaction points, adding that making payment at home or through a representative should be adopted in case beneficiaries suffer illness and old age or unable to use phone.

It targets to raise the percentage of people receiving social benefits through bank accounts to over 80% by the end of this year in localities that have carried out non-cash payment on a large scale and over 70% at localities that are piloting the implementation of this service, Ngoc said.