Hana Bank teams with KIND and Vietnam’s BIDV to expand infrastructure finance and QR payments

Hana Bank is expanding its finance and payments footprint in Vietnam through partnerships with a state-owned Vietnamese bank and a South Korean public agency.

The bank said April 26 that it signed a three-way memorandum of understanding on April 23 with the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, known as BIDV, and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp., or KIND, at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi.

Under the agreement, the three organizations plan to build a strategic partnership in infrastructure and energy, urban development and green projects, and to jointly identify investment opportunities to support South Korean companies entering the market. Hana Bank also said it will deepen cooperation with BIDV, one of Vietnam’s four major state-owned banks, to link investment development with financial services.

Hana Bank is also moving into Vietnam’s digital payments market. Working with its subsidiary GLN International, it launched a cross-border QR payment service in partnership with Vietnam National Payment Corp., known as NAPAS, and BIDV. Hana Bank said it is the only South Korean financial institution participating in the project as a settlement bank, while GLN will operate payments directly connected to Vietnam’s national QR network.

Users can pay at major tourist destinations including Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc through domestic banking and financial technology apps without exchanging currency, the bank said.

Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-seong said the bank will combine Vietnam’s growth potential with its international financial capabilities to create practical value. He said the strategy, spanning infrastructure finance and digital payments, aims to provide convenient and stable services and to upgrade the bank’s global payments network.