The signing ceremony was hosted by BGS & Viet A Bank at the Hilton Hotel in Hanoi, on the occasion of the Official Visit of H.E. Minister Martin Bartenstein, the Federal Economic Minister of Austria to Hanoi. Additional Honoraries included H.E. Phung Khac Ke, the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, and H.E. the Austrian Ambassador Johannes Peterlik. As H.E. Minister Bartenstein stated in his address: “This project is an important step for the growing trade cooperation between the Republic of Austria and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It represents a significant innovation for the banking and commercial sector under the guidance of the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam on the path towards a nationwide cashless payment infrastructure. We know BGS Smartcard Systems as an experienced and successful company which has, over the last 15 years, proven its professional competence and technology excellence many times.” Maily Nguyen, Vice President, Consumer Banking stated: ”Viet A Bank is excited and very pleased to implement a highly secure and flexible cashless payment solution for the Vietnamese people; this is another step towards Vietnam’s more efficient way of conducting its day to day business processes. Viet A Bank is also playing the critical role of Application Service Provider (ASP) to the entire Vietnamese financial community in order to address the Prime Minister’s decrees on further promoting cashless payment technology in Vietnam.” Mark.k@bgssmartcard.com www.bgssmartcard.com