Proposal to increase penalties for providing e-wallet services

One of the violations regarding payment accounts that the State Bank proposed to increase the penalty level for is violating regulations on payment intermediaries (providing e-wallet services).

The e-wallet market in Vietnam has witnessed rapid growth. According to FiinGroup, a company specializing in providing integrated financial data services, the number and value of transactions via e-wallets have continuously achieved double-digit growth in the period 2018-2023, with annual growth rates of 80.4% and 83.5%, respectively.

The hot growth of the market is one of the reasons why the management agency has to amend related management regulations.

Accordingly, in the draft decree on administrative sanctions for violations in the monetary and banking sectors that is being consulted (amending and supplementing Decree No. 88/2019/ND-CP), the State Bank has proposed a fine of VND 100 - 120 million for the act of opening or maintaining anonymous or impersonated e-wallets; buying, selling, renting, leasing, borrowing, lending e-wallets; stealing, colluding to steal, buying, selling e-wallet information from 10 or more e-wallets;

Fines from 50 to 100 million VND for opening or maintaining anonymous or impersonated e-wallets; buying, selling, renting, leasing, borrowing, lending e-wallets; stealing, colluding to steal, buying, or selling e-wallet information from 1 to less than 10 e-wallets.

E-wallet service applications. Illustration photo

In addition, violations in bank card activities are also subject to increased penalties. For example: a fine of VND 100 - 150 million for acts of buying, selling, renting, leasing, borrowing, lending payment accounts (bank accounts) or buying, selling payment account information with a quantity of 1 account to less than 10 payment accounts that is not yet subject to criminal prosecution.

Fines from 150 to 200 million VND for opening payment accounts for customers, allowing customers to use payment accounts in violation of the law in the process of providing payment services; fines from 60 to 80 million VND for renting, leasing, buying, selling, opening bank cards (except for anonymous prepaid cards) with a quantity from 1 card to less than 10 cards.

According to data from the State Bank of Vietnam , as of June 30, 2024, the country has 50 licensed payment intermediary organizations, including 48 e-wallet service providers. The total number of activated wallets is up to 58 million, with more than 34 million active wallets, accounting for about 59% of the total number of wallets.

Regarding non-cash payment activities, by early 2025, the number of personal payment accounts in Vietnam reached more than 200 million. At many commercial banks, more than 90% of financial transactions were conducted via digital channels, with transaction growth via the Internet, mobile devices and QR codes reaching 35%, 33% and 66% respectively compared to the same period in 2024.

Thuy Linh

Source: https://congthuong.vn/de-xuat-tang-muc-xu-phat-trong-cung-ung-dich-vu-vi-dien-tu-388351.html