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A user integrates a payment card into a digital wallet on a mobile application. Photo: Trong Dat

During a discussion on the Government's Project 06, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Hong, highlighted the substantial progress in the country's digital payment landscape. The interbank payment system in Vietnam now processes over VND 830,000 billion daily, while the retail payment system handles 20-25 million transactions each day.

Vietnam has seen a surge in the adoption of innovative and secure payment methods, such as QR Code payments, contactless chip cards, biometric authentication, and data encryption. According to the State Bank, from 2021 to 2023, internet and mobile payment transactions grew by 52% and 103%, respectively. QR Code payment transactions alone increased by more than 170%.

Currently, over 87% of Vietnamese adults hold bank accounts, with 182 million individual payment accounts and more than 147 million active bank cards in circulation. These statistics underscore the robust development of digital payments in the country.

In Directive 18, the Prime Minister assigned the State Bank two key tasks: to refine the legal framework for cashless payments and to enhance electronic payment utilities. The State Bank has been actively guiding credit institutions to upgrade and perfect the infrastructure for cashless payments, ensuring smooth and secure operations. These efforts have significantly contributed to the digital transformation of Vietnam's payment sector.

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A fake website with an interface and address impersonating a bank. Photo: Trong Dat

The rapid increase in cashless payments has also attracted fraudulent activities. Scammers employ various tactics to deceive users, including psychological manipulation, inducing unauthorized money transfers, hijacking machines, and stealing identity information for illicit purposes.

At a Cyber Fraud Prevention and Control Seminar held by the National Cyber Security Association in mid-May, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Pham Tien Dung, revealed that 91% of fraud cases are linked to bank accounts.

To bolster security in online and bank card payments, new regulations will take effect on July 1, 2024. These include mandatory facial recognition for transactions over VND 10 million, verifying the transactor's face against the account holder's face when opening the account. For transactions exceeding VND 20 million in a single day, users will need to re-authenticate their identity.

Decision 2345, effective from July 1, also stipulates that users must authenticate new devices with the old device to prevent device theft by criminals. Additionally, banks must record device information used for online transactions and maintain transaction authentication logs for a minimum of three months.

Trong Dat