The State Bank of Vietnam provided an update on Vietnam–Laos banking cooperation at the 48th meeting of the Vietnam–Laos Intergovernmental Committee. Deputy Governor Nguyen Ngoc Canh highlighted progress in promoting settlements in Vietnamese dong and Lao kip and in developing cross-border retail payments via QR codes, alongside priorities for the next cooperation phase. After more than eight months of implementing the local-currency settlement plan, VND/LAK payment turnover through banks reached nearly VND 904 billion and more than LAK 1,300 billion (around USD 110 million), representing over 10% of total Vietnam–Laos payment turnover. VND-denominated cross-border lending activity covered four projects with registered amounts of about VND 48,055.5 billion and disbursements of nearly VND 20,000 billion. The QR-code retail payment connection from Vietnam to Laos has been in place since January 2025, while the Laos-to-Vietnam direction has completed technical connectivity and is expected to launch officially soon. For 2026–2030, the Vietnamese and Lao central banks plan to prioritise resources to implement the new memorandum of understanding, maintain the objective of increasing local-currency use in trade and investment, and further digitalise and complete cross-border payment infrastructure connectivity.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-12-04
State Bank of Vietnam reports VND and LAK settlements topping 10% of Vietnam–Laos payment turnover and advances cross-border QR link
The State Bank of Vietnam updated on Vietnam–Laos banking cooperation, highlighting progress in local-currency settlements and cross-border retail payments via QR codes. VND/LAK payment turnover reached nearly VND 904 billion and LAK 1,300 billion, with VND-denominated lending covering four projects. For 2026–2030, the focus will be on enhancing local-currency use and digitalising cross-border payment infrastructure.