Cash payments in Vietnam represented 21 percent of the total financial transactions in 2005, down from 24 percent in 2004, local newspaper Vietnam News said Friday quoting a state bank report.

More convenient electronic payment terms and services resulted in a sharp increase in bank payment transactions which also mean that the government could save money on minting banknotes or coins, and would contain corruption and money laundering, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

"To limit cash payments, Vietnam needs to encourage intra- account payments for electricity, water, telephone, Internet and cable television bills," said the bank's governor Le Duc Thuy.

Five hundreds of automatic teller machines (ATMs) were installed nationwide last year, bringing the total number of ATMs in Vietnam to 1,100, while bank card circulation rose to 2.1 million, said the report.

Source: Xinhua