The State Bank of Vietnam has officially joined the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative as part of an expansion of the MOU RPC. Following this announcement, the central bank of Vietnam will be part of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity (MOU RPC).

This was launched initially by the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, at the sidelines of the G20 Leader’s Summit held in Bali on the 14th of November 2022. The State Bank of Vietnam signed the Supplemental Pages of the MAU RPC at the sidelines of the 10th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM), which took place on the 25th of August 2023 in Jakarta. The expansion of the Regional Payment Connectivity is set to include other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members in a mandate from the 9th ADMGM.

Furthermore, the expansion represents a priority of the ASEAN 2023 Indonesia Chairmanship, as the RPC could possibly be expanded to other countries beyond ASEAN as well. More information on the expansion The RPC represents an initiative that was created in order to strengthen and improve the overall collaboration on the payment connectivity process through the development of faster, cheaper, more secure, transparent, and inclusive cross-border payments. The collaboration includes multiple features and offerings, such as QR-code and fast payment-based cross-border transactions.

The overall aim of the Regional Payment Connectivity initiative is set on making inter-country payments more seamless, affordable, and convenient to customers and clients. Moreover, the institutions prioritise the process of meeting the needs and preferences of their users and partners, as well as allowing businesses and individuals to conduct transactions across the ASEAN area more easily and efficiently. In addition, the initiative aims to emphasise the importance of providing businesses with an improved environment to strengthen regional linkages, as well as with payment systems that are set to develop the local currency markets in the regions and to reduce foreign exchange risks.

The inclusion of the State Bank of Vietnam has increased the Regional Payment Connectivity group to six ASEAN Central Banks. The partnership will focus on further improving the post-pandemic economic activities across the ASEAN area, which includes the promotion of tourism and other services industries. Furthermore, the collaboration is expected to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to offer the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states the possibility to increase trade, investment, and remittances within the region by connecting their payment systems.

These new processes and features are set to widen the financial inclusion procedure and contribute to the overall advancements of the ASEAN economic community. .