Each bank has different policies regarding dormant accounts, whether they be payment accounts, ATM cards, or credit cards. The State Bank allows banks to apply their own fee structures, as long as they are disclosed and agreed upon when the account is opened.
For ATM cards, even when not in use, cardholders may still incur various fees such as annual fees, SMS banking service fees, and account management fees, among others.
Additionally, banks will typically block or freeze accounts that have been inactive for an extended period, usually after 6-18 months of no account activity or a zero balance.
Specifically, Agribank will temporarily block a customer’s payment account if the balance falls below the minimum required and there are no transactions for 12 consecutive months. If the account remains inactive for more than 36 months, Agribank will close the customer’s account.
Similarly, BIDV has a policy of closing payment accounts when the balance reaches zero and there are no transactions for six consecutive months for VND accounts or 12 months for foreign currency accounts (except for certain products agreed upon with customers).
In addition to closing the account, BIDV also terminates all connected services for those accounts.
Likewise, VietinBank and Vietcombank follow similar protocols, closing accounts with a zero balance and no transactions for 12 consecutive months.
Most banks have policies to temporarily block or close accounts with a zero balance and no transactions for an extended period. (Illustrative image)
Techcombank will also close payment accounts that have no active transactions for a minimum of 12 consecutive months, and the balance (after deducting fees) is less than the minimum required (50,000 VND/5 USD/5 EUR).
ACB Bank will close unused accounts and not charge any fees. However, if a customer wishes to cancel their account or card, they must pay an additional fee of 20,000 VND.
At Sacombank, if a customer’s card account remains at a zero balance for six consecutive months without any transactions, the bank will stop accounting for the account and will not charge any additional fees.
Similarly, TPBank accounts with insufficient funds to cover fees will be switched to a “sleep” status.
Thus, most banks will temporarily block or close accounts with a zero balance or below the minimum required, along with no transactions for a period ranging from six months to three years.
Temporarily blocking or closing inactive accounts helps banks avoid management fees and potential issues that may arise.
