VietinBank (CTG) and NAPAS Sign MOU for VietQRGlobal Payments at Central Retail Thailand

Overview

VietinBank (HOSE: CTG), the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) and Thailand’s Central Retail Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy cross-border QR payments via VietQRGlobal across Central Retail’s Thai retail network. The agreement, signed during Vietnam Week in Thailand 2026, extends a partnership already operating in Vietnam and gives Vietnamese consumers a cashless payment option at more than 3,000 stores in Thailand.

Key Facts

• The MOU covers VietQRGlobal acceptance at over 3,000 Central Retail stores across 63 Thai provinces.
• Central Retail banners in scope include Central, Robinson, Tops, Tops Daily, Supersports and Topcare.
• Vietnamese visitors can pay by scanning QR codes through domestic banking apps or e-wallets, without cash or foreign-exchange conversion.
• The signing took place under “Vietnam Week in Thailand 2026”.
• In October 2025, NAPAS and Central Retail Vietnam launched VietQRPay and VietQRGlobal across the GO! and Tops Market systems in Vietnam.
• Central Retail Corporation’s Senior Vice President for Group Treasury, Sukulaya Uahwatanasakul, represented the Thai retailer at the signing.
• NAPAS Deputy General Director Nguyen Hoang Long stated the partnership expands the VietQRGlobal acceptance network into international markets.

What Happened

According to the signed MOU, the three parties will coordinate implementation of cross-border QR payment across Central Retail’s full supermarket and retail footprint in Thailand. Once the service is operational, Vietnamese travellers will be able to use domestic banking applications or e-wallets to scan QR codes at checkout, removing the need to carry cash or exchange currency. The stated aim is to raise awareness of the service and encourage usage among Vietnamese consumers shopping in Thailand.

The agreement builds on an existing relationship. In October 2025, NAPAS and Central Retail Vietnam successfully deployed VietQRPay and VietQRGlobal across the GO! and Tops Market chains in Vietnam. The Thai expansion is described by the parties as a step in NAPAS’s cross-border payment roadmap with member banks, intended to support trade, tourism and economic connectivity between Vietnam and Thailand and the wider region. The source article does not disclose transaction value, revenue-sharing terms or a go-live date for the Thai service.

Market Context

VietinBank trades on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and closed at VND 30,250 on 18 September 2026. As one of Vietnam’s largest state-linked joint-stock banks, CTG is a core holding in the banking sector, which has been sensitive to credit-growth quotas, net interest margin compression and the State Bank of Vietnam’s policy stance. Cross-border QR interconnection is a low-capital, fee-based adjacency rather than a balance-sheet driver, so the announcement is unlikely to move near-term earnings estimates. Its relevance sits within the broader regional push by Vietnamese payment infrastructure, following similar QR linkages with Thailand, Cambodia and Laos under the ASEAN payment-connectivity framework.

Strategic Significance

For CTG, participation in VietQRGlobal is a distribution play: it keeps the bank’s app in front of outbound Vietnamese travellers and captures foreign-exchange and payment-processing fees that would otherwise accrue to card networks or Thai acquirers. The strategic value compounds if acceptance spreads beyond Central Retail to other Thai merchants, because each new acceptance point raises the utility of the VietinBank app relative to cash and international card schemes. Central Retail gains incremental footfall from a high-spending tourist segment, and NAPAS strengthens its position as the interoperability layer for Vietnamese retail payments abroad. The main constraint is that QR corridors monetise slowly and depend on merchant density and traveller volume rather than on any single MOU.

What to Watch

• Confirmation of a go-live date and the first live transaction volume at Central Retail Thailand.
• Whether VietQRGlobal acceptance extends beyond Central Retail to other Thai merchant acquirers.
• CTG’s Q3 2026 results for fee and payment-services income disclosure.
• NAPAS announcements on additional bilateral QR corridors within ASEAN.
• State Bank of Vietnam updates on cross-border payment licensing and reporting rules.