This paper discusses the role of thepostal network in expanding access to financial services inVietnam. It reviews the public postal operator within thepostal sector and within the broader context of thecommunications sector. The roles of the Vietnam postalnetwork and post bank are also reviewed from the perspectiveof the financial sector development, with particular focuson payments systems development and micro finance. Whilethis country case on Vietnam can stand alone, it is anintegral part of this large study of the potential of postalnetworks to coordinate with financial service providers in 7countries (Egypt, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Romania, Sri Lanka,Uganda, and Vietnam) and 5 regions (Africa, Asia, EasternEurope and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean,and the Middle East and Northern Africa). Five years afterits introduction, the Vietnamese Postal Savings Corporation(VPSC) can look back on an impressive record of successes.With its 920 post offices (of 3,000), VPSC operates thesecond-largest financial service network in the country. Itdeveloped as a channel for mobilizing small householddeposits, nearly 400,000 individuals keep accounts with theVPSC, and it has mobilized about 1 percent of thenation's savings. It has also pioneered modern cashlesspayment services, and provides payroll and card-basedservices. The next step in its development is theintegration of the postal payment services into itsoperations. However, after an initially fast growth track,VPSC currently faces increasing stagnation in its growth,mainly due to government limitations on its institutionaland regulatory framework. Changes are required to enablesustainable growth of VPSC and including the post offices inits provision of low-threshold access to basic financial services.
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