“Abolishing Non-Primary Bank Accounts: A Step Towards Financial Security”

Protecting Both Banks and Customers

SHB Bank has recently announced that in accordance with Circular No. 17/2024/TT-NHNN regulating the opening and usage of payment accounts and Circular No. 18/2024/TT-NHNN on bank card activities, from January 1, 2025, the bank will temporarily halt payment transactions and withdrawals from payment accounts and cards for customers with expired or invalid personal documents.

Concurrently, customers will only be able to perform withdrawal and electronic payment transactions on their payment accounts and cards after successfully matching their biometric information from the citizen identity card with a chip/identity card and the biometric data of the account holder/cardholder with the data stored in the database of the Ministry of Public Security.

This is an improvement over the previous regulation, which required biometric information for transfers exceeding VND 10 million per transaction or VND 20 million per day, or bill payments exceeding VND 100 million, as per Decision 2345 of the State Bank of Vietnam, which came into effect on July 1, 2024. The new circular also aims to prevent the use of fake documents and eliminate non-primary accounts, reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

“These new regulations on biometric implementation are an effective way to enhance security and protect users, giving both banks and customers peace of mind when conducting financial transactions with the right people, avoiding risks for both parties,” emphasized the representative from SHB.

SHB is not alone in this endeavor; several other banks, including Nam A Bank, VPBank, and TPBank, have also informed their customers about updating personal documents and biometric information. Techcombank has announced a temporary halt on transactions for non-primary accounts from January 1, 2025, in compliance with Circular No. 17 of the State Bank of Vietnam on opening and using payment accounts. Customers will be unable to perform electronic transactions without providing the required biometric information. Techcombank recommends that users promptly update their information using the citizen identity card with a chip on the Techcombank Mobile application or by visiting the bank’s branches directly.

At the recent workshop “Hanoi – Smart City and Open Banking Ecosystem,” Vice Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Pham Tien Dung, requested that bank leaders expedite the update of data information on bank accounts. According to the Vice Governor, the banking industry has set a goal for January 1, 2025, to ensure that all bank account data is alive and fully matched with the citizen identity card with a chip. This helps eliminate and reduce the practice of renting or lending bank accounts, contributing to the prevention of fraud. If an account is not authenticated, it will be blocked from transactions. Accounts without biometric information will only be provided services at the counter.

According to experts, in the past, online scams involving bank accounts were often linked to “virtual” or non-primary accounts, making tracing and investigation extremely challenging. The new regulation aims to eradicate non-primary bank accounts and enhance the safety of individuals using electronic banking services.

Significant Decline in Online Scam Cases

Previously, from the end of 2023, the State Bank of Vietnam issued Decision No. 2345/QD-NHNN. According to this decision, from July 1, 2024, all banks and payment intermediaries must apply a unified policy for individual customers when transactions exceed VND 10 million or a total daily transaction amount of VND 20 million. They must verify the biometric signs (face) of the person performing the transaction to match the face of the account holder verified against the national database on population or the electronic identity card with a chip issued by the Ministry of Public Security. For individual customers performing transactions for the first time using Mobile Banking or before performing transactions on a different device than the one used for the most recent Mobile Banking transaction, biometric re-authentication is mandatory.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, Decision 2345 was issued to ensure that online banking users are the account holders themselves, protecting customers and contributing to reducing crimes involving fraud and the appropriation of customer assets. It also helps prevent the renting, borrowing, and buying and selling of payment accounts and e-wallets for illegal purposes.

After more than three months of implementation, Decision 2345 has proven highly effective in combating fraud. Vice Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Dao Minh Tu, shared that approximately 38 million customers have successfully registered their biometric information, and the number of scam cases has been halved. The number of accounts receiving scammed money has also decreased by over 70% compared to the average of the first seven months of 2024. Notably, some units reported no scam cases in August and September 2024.

Moving forward, the State Bank of Vietnam will continue to implement measures to secure payment activities and protect the rights and interests of customers. Simultaneously, efforts will be made to enhance communication and financial education to raise people’s awareness of using financial products and services safely and effectively.