Hana Bank said on April 26 it signed a memorandum of understanding at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum in Hanoi to strengthen cooperation on infrastructure projects in Vietnam and overseas.

The memorandum was arranged for the three parties, including Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development (BIDV) and Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), to jointly pursue projects in areas such as infrastructure, energy and urban development.

The three institutions agreed to identify business opportunities linking investment and finance and to cooperate on financial support related to the local expansion of South Korean companies.

Hana Bank also held a launch event on the same day with its subsidiary GLN, Vietnam National Payment Corporation (NAPAS) and BIDV for a cross-border QR payment service.

The service is promoted under approval from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). Hana Bank participates as the settlement bank, and GLN is responsible for payment operations. The company said Hana Bank will be the only South Korean financial institution to participate as a settlement bank.

As a result, QR payments are available at participating merchants in major tourist destinations such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City through domestic banking and fintech apps without currency exchange or installing a separate app.

The service is available on Hana Bank, Hana Card, Hana Money, Toss and Purple GLN, and is set to expand to Naver Pay and others in the future.

To mark the service launch, Hana Bank and GLN will run an event through May 31 offering 5 percent cashback for QR payments at Lotte Mart and King Kong Mart in Vietnam.

Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-sung (이호성) said the agreement and service launch will serve as an opportunity to create practical value by combining Vietnam's growth potential with Hana Bank's global financial capabilities. He said the bank will improve its global payment network while providing convenient and stable financial services through a strategy spanning infrastructure finance and digital payments.