QR code payments have become more common in Vietnam. Illustrative photo by nld.

Nguyen Le Ai, owner of a bakery on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Hanoi, had to take her mobile phone and scan the QR code at the cashier right after opening the shop every morning. Her shop would be very crowded in the early morning and many customers pay through QR code scanning.

"I printed my bank's QR code on three papers and pasted them at the cashier desk as more customers want to pay with it," Ai said. "However, I've been warned that someone may paste their codes on it to take the money. So I'm having to check the code every day."

Pham Duy Ha, who owns a bookstore on Lang Street also has to confirm with his customers the name of the bank account holder every time they make transactions through QR code.

"I have to check my bank balance right after they complete transactions," Ha said. "I've heard that some busy shops have lost money after their QR codes were replaced by other codes."

A representative from the Ministry of Information and Communications, Nguyen Duy Khiem, said that the use of QR codes for payments sharply increased after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Scams relating to QR code transactions have appeared in Vietnam and local banks issued a warning about this in August," Khiem said. "People are advised to carefully check information when conducting transactions via QR codes, especially those shared on the internet."

Statistics from the State Bank of Vietnam showed that QR code transactions rose by 225 percent in volume and 243 percent in value in 2022 compared to 2021.