Van Viet Duc is the director of a transport company in Ho Chi Minh City and has 34 bank cards altogether, including five credit cards issued by five different banks for payment online or urgent payments. “Having a job with high salary, banks have been targeting me and offering me loans through credit cards,” said Duc. “I can borrow a maximum of VND50 million ($2,700) a month, interest-free for 45 days.” On a recent visit to Vietnam, Visa’s South East Asia general manager Peter Maher said the bank card market in Vietnam had the highest growth rate in the region. After 15 years in operation, there are now more than one million Visa cards in circulation. However, Maher said the market had only started to grow rapidly about two years ago, with 400,000 new customers signing up. The number of Visa cards issued in Vietnam increased from 100,000 in 2005 with 15 member banks, to more than one million by the end of 2009 with 28 member banks, a 900 per cent increase … [Read more...] about Playing a new deck of cards
Citi card discounts
Fahasa opens 87th bookstore in HCM City’s Bình Tân District
HCM CITY - HCM City Book Distribution Company (Fahasa) opened its 24th outlet in HCM City and 87th in the country in Bình Tân District on Thursday. Fahasa Phú Lâm bookstore in Aeon Mall Bình Tân has over 100,000 Vietnamese and foreign books imported from countries including the US, Germany, Denmark, and Spain. To mark the opening, Fahasa offered a 10 per cent discount on books by global publishers like Oxford, MacMillan, Cambridge, Pearson, Cengage, Efuture, Parragon, Penguin, Hachette, and Garnet. In coordination with Taplife Việt Nam, Fahasa has launched Tapkids, an interactive English learning software for children that uses Augmented Reality. With this, instead of traditional reading, kids will use smart equipment installed in Tapkids and turn the screen of the equipment into cards. -VNS … [Read more...] about Fahasa opens 87th bookstore in HCM City’s Bình Tân District
Vietnam probes money transfer company implicated in $200 mil credit card fraud
A company offering money transfer services in Ho Chi Minh City is being probed for suspected involvement in a US$200 million international credit card fraudselling stolen data. News website VietNamNet said police raided offices of the Tran Chanh Company last week and seized many documents relating to the scam in connection with which UK authorities on May 5 filed charges against eight Vietnamese citizens and three UK citizens. All the 11 people have been arrested in their respective countries. Vietnamese authorities suspect that Tran Chanh Company had some connection with Van Tien Tu, who set up the website that had 16,000 members in Vietnam, the UK and the US. They said Tu had managed to transfer around $1.5 million back to Vietnam, through Western Union service offered by the company, and spent the money on luxury cars. Eight people in Vietnam are charged with running one of the world's largest Web forums dedicated to selling stolen data from 1.1 million cards, while the three UK … [Read more...] about Vietnam probes money transfer company implicated in $200 mil credit card fraud
Photos: Christmas around every corner in HCM City
Christmas is coming to town and the capital city is covered with sparkling and splendid Christmas decorations. Streets and buildings, from shops, offices, hotels and commercial buildings are decorated with colourful LED lights and flowers ready for Christmas and New Year 2015. Many people, particularly the young, have been flocking to bright streets as well as shopping centres to enjoy the festive atmosphere and take photos. Ideal places to welcome Christmas in the capital city include the St Joseph's Cathedral and other churches in downtown and amusement parks and commercial centres. Since the end of last month, Hang Ma Street in the Old Quarter has been filled with the colours of thousands of Christmas decorations and other items. The street is known for selling paraphernalia needed to celebrate different festivals. At shops along the 500m street, people can find items for their Christmas decorations such as pine trees, sponge snowmen, artificial snow flakes, baubles, tartan … [Read more...] about Photos: Christmas around every corner in HCM City
HCM City shares Christmas with the poor
Christmas Eve musical performances and other holiday events in HCM City feature big names and promises .. and plenty of entertainment for the poor and disadvantaged. By Thu Anh Among the many festive events scheduled for the holiday season in southern Việt Nam is a music concert and fashion show expected to draw 10,000 local and foreign guests looking for an escape from the frenzied atmosphere of bigger cities. Actors from traditional art troupes are reaching out to residents in every corner of the city, offering a variety of free shows during the season. The music gala Duyên Dáng Việt Nam (Charming Việt Nam), which will be held at Lâm Viên Square in the resort city of Đà Lạt on Christmas Eve, will feature 50 singers, dancers, theatre artists and a symphony orchestra. Vietnamese-American singers, Elvis Phương, Khánh Hà and Tuấn Ngọc, will perform songs about winter and love by … [Read more...] about HCM City shares Christmas with the poor