ATM growth predicted in Vietnam

HANOI — Vietnam will likely have about 2,000 ATMs in the next few years, said Ta Quang Tien, director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Information Technology department.

According to a Vietnam News Service report, at the Banking Expo 2004 conference in Hanoi on June 15, Tien said the country was experiencing high growth in ATM and debit cards. There are about 350,000 debit cards in Vietnam, 250,000 of which are domestic and 100,000 issued by international financial institutions.

The country began with two ATMs in 1996, and now has more than 400. The number is expected to double by the end of 2004.