Race for biometric authentication

From 2025, bank and securities accounts that have not been verified with biometric authentication will be unable to conduct transactions.

According to regulations in circulars issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), from the beginning of 2025, account holders or bank cardholders will not be able to perform transactions such as withdrawing money, transferring money, paying bills, topping up online accounts, or conducting ATM transactions unless they have completed biometric verification and updated their personal identification documents. Therefore, recently, commercial banks, e-wallets, and securities companies have been continuously sending notifications reminding customers to quickly complete biometric verification as the January 1st, 2025 deadline approaches.

Banks are racing against time.

Specifically, a number of banks such as Vietcombank, BIDV, Sacombank, Techcombank, Nam A Bank, VPBank, MB, andACB are encouraging users to quickly verify their biometric data. These banks have pre-set reminder notifications whenever users log into their applications to make payments. Notably, Vietcombank, since the end of November, has opened its branches outside of regular business hours to help customers quickly update their biometric information and return expired identification documents.

Meanwhile, MB, VPBank, and Techcombank also organized giveaways of gifts and cash rewards for users who completed biometric verification and updated their personal documents before the deadline.

Banks, e-wallets, and securities companies are aggressively encouraging users to use biometric authentication. Photo: LE TINH

MoMo is also implementing various activities to support users in promptly completing biometric authentication on the MoMo application, while expanding multi-channel access to comply with Circular 40/2024/TT-NHNN of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Diep, co-founder of MoMo, said that since November 2024, MoMo has collaborated with the Ministry of Public Security to integrate electronic authentication services directly into the VNeID application. MoMo users can conveniently and securely authenticate themselves using biometric authentication via VNeID without needing to use NFC technology, helping users who have difficulty authenticating due to devices lacking NFC or not being familiar with the technology.

In particular, securities companies are also pushing for biometric updates, as they had previously postponed the update from October 1, 2024 to January 1, 2025. Accordingly, in addition to sending reminder emails, companies will also notify investors via the application during each securities transaction. A representative from VPS Securities Company stated that from the end of November 2024, the company updated the NFC scanning feature on citizen identification cards (CCCD) when customers open securities accounts, in order to limit fraud and prevent the misuse of customer information to open accounts illegally.

A representative from a joint-stock bank stated that encouraging users to complete biometric verification early is crucial to avoid overload, congestion, or even gridlock, similar to the situation in July 2024 (transactions involving money transfers exceeding 10 million VND or total transactions exceeding 20 million VND per day required biometric verification).

Customers are still taking their time…

However, according to reporters, many users and investors are still taking their time and are not in a hurry to update their biometric data. Mr. Minh Khanh (residing in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) said he has a total of 5 bank accounts, 1 securities account, and 2 e-wallet accounts. "Each time I update my biometrics, I have to get my citizen identification card, take a portrait photo, and read the NFC, which takes time, so I'm not in a hurry," Mr. Khanh said.

Some elderly people, who are not tech-savvy, have to rely on family members to help them update their biometric data or renew expired identification documents, so they haven't been able to update theirs yet.

According to Circulars 17/2024/TT-NHNN and 18/2024/TT-NHNN of the State Bank of Vietnam, from January 1, 2025, bank account holders/cardholders will not be able to perform online transactions (withdrawals, transfers, bill payments, top-ups, etc.) and ATM transactions if they have not updated their information. The information that needs to be updated includes: verifying the account number, cross-checking the declaration form and biometric information; and updating and supplementing new information to replace expired identification documents (ID card, citizen identification card, passport, visa).

According to the latest statistics from the State Bank of Vietnam, Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu stated that approximately 38 million customers have successfully registered their biometric information since July 1st. From the beginning of 2025, all accounts that have not had their biometric information collected by commercial banks or payment intermediaries for verification will only be able to provide services at the counter, instead of online payments.

"Reports from credit institutions indicate that after implementing biometric authentication from July 1, 2024, the number of fraud cases has decreased by up to 50% compared to before. The number of accounts receiving fraudulent funds has also decreased by over 70% compared to the average of the first seven months of 2024," Mr. Tu informed.

In line with the State Bank of Vietnam's requirements, commercial banks are also proactively strengthening security solutions to combat fraud and scams by cybercriminals. MB is the first bank in Vietnam to implement a feature to identify fraudulent account information.

After nearly six months of implementation, the latest updated figures show that MB has detected more than 4,200 accounts on the suspicious list. Specifically, when making money transfers, customers will receive a warning if the recipient's account is potentially fraudulent, helping to stop the suspicious transaction to avoid losing money unnecessarily.

"The fraud detection and alert feature is the result of a collaboration between MB and the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (A05) - Ministry of Public Security, updating the list of all accounts participating in or associated with fraudulent activities nationwide. Before each customer money transfer transaction, MB will quickly check to identify whether the account is on the suspicious list," said an MB representative.

VPBank stated that it is working with A05 and NAPAS to build a database containing all fake or fraudulent accounts. Whenever customers transfer money into these accounts, the bank will issue a warning to alert them.

According to banks, in the near future, the database of accounts flagged as fraudulent is expected to be expanded to an interbank level, which will help customers minimize the risk of being scammed into transferring money or mistakenly transferring money to fraudulent accounts.

Preventing the buying and selling of bank accounts.

According to BIDV, buying/selling/renting/borrowing accounts, accessing links from unknown sources, downloading fake applications, and listening to advice from malicious individuals leading to the leakage of personal information, online banking passwords, OTP codes, etc., are the main reasons why many people have money stolen from their accounts.

According to security experts, biometrics is considered a positive step forward in minimizing risks and protecting users from fraud and scams. "For transactions requiring biometric authentication, in addition to authentication methods using Smart Code/SMS OTP, customers must compare the actual facial image of the person conducting the transaction with the data stored in the chip of the chip-embedded citizen identification card. Adding this biometric security layer will help minimize impersonation scams, unauthorized access to devices, or information theft to misappropriate assets," a BIDV representative stated.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/chay-dua-xac-thuc-sinh-trac-hoc-196241204205441742.htm