Nearly 86 million "dormant" bank accounts are about to be wiped out

(Dan Tri) - A representative of the State Bank of Vietnam's Payment Department said that it is expected that by next September, all bank accounts that have not been biometrically authenticated will be closed to prevent financial fraud.

Millions of bank accounts are "lying dormant".

On the afternoon of June 2nd, at a press conference announcing the 2025 Cashless Day, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department (State Bank of Vietnam), stated that according to previous statistics, there were 200 million bank accounts nationwide. However, after the State Bank of Vietnam required biometric verification, the number of active accounts has decreased to 113 million individual accounts. In addition, more than 711,000 accounts belonging to organizations have already been verified.

These accounts have been cross-checked with the National Population Database. According to Mr. Tuan, unverified accounts could be inactive accounts, abandoned accounts, or accounts showing signs of fraud that have been opened indiscriminately in the past and are now no longer eligible for verification.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam (Photo: Ministry of Finance).

"This is a major overhaul of the banking industry aimed at eliminating illegal accounts," Mr. Tuan emphasized. It is expected that from September, all accounts without biometric verification will be closed to prevent financial fraud.

He also stated that over the years, the banking industry has actively encouraged people to open accounts, but this has simultaneously created many risks related to fraud. "We need the collective effort of the entire society to protect users from sophisticated forms of fraud," he said.

According to the General Statistics Office, as of the end of 2024, Vietnam had approximately 69 million people aged 15 and over, of which more than 68 million had bank accounts. This figure reflects the strong development of cashless payments in society.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan stated that cashless payment is not only a modern transaction method but also a strategic foundation for connecting components in the digital economy .

"This is a key factor in ensuring the smooth, synchronized, and increasingly完善 operation of the digital ecosystem, thereby bringing Vietnam closer to a transparent, inclusive, and modern economy," Mr. Tuan emphasized.

E-wallets get an upgrade from July 1st: Now you can use them for payments just like bank cards.

Also at the event, a representative from the State Bank of Vietnam announced that, from July 1st, e-wallets will be officially recognized as a legal means of payment, equivalent to bank accounts, payment cards, and cash.

Accordingly, the new regulations allow e-wallets to make payments at all acceptance points, transfer money flexibly between wallets or between wallets and bank accounts, and no longer require a linked bank account.

According to Mr. Tuan, this change opens up great potential for the development of e-wallets, especially in rural and remote areas – where people have limited access to the traditional banking system.

Furthermore, the draft amendment to Circular 40, expected to take effect from September 1st, will continue to create a favorable legal framework for the development of e-wallets. However, Mr. Tuan emphasized that service providers must ensure compliance with the law and must not abet illegal lending, gambling, or unauthorized trading platforms.

From July 1st, e-wallets will be recognized as a means of payment (Photo: PV).

According to data from the Payment Department, by the end of the first quarter, there were 47 organizations providing e-wallet services; the number of active e-wallets was approximately 30.27 million (accounting for 65.8% of the nearly 46 million activated e-wallets) with a total amount of over 2,800 billion VND in these wallets.

Ho Chi Minh City aims for a cashless future.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, said that the city is currently the leading retail market in the country with a high growth rate. In 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assigned the city a target of 18% growth in the retail sector, higher than the average of previous years.

To achieve this goal, Ho Chi Minh City is stepping up consumer stimulus activities, with focused promotional programs considered one of the key solutions.

In addition, the city is also strongly promoting the development of cashless payments, not only in the retail sector but also expanding to services such as transportation, accommodation, food, healthcare , beauty, and many other areas. This is an effort to create a comprehensive experiential ecosystem for both residents and tourists.

"With synchronized implementation, starting with changes in payment methods, I believe Ho Chi Minh City is gradually moving towards a future where cash is no longer the most common means of payment," Mr. Phuong emphasized.

In the first quarter, transactions through the interbank electronic payment system reached nearly 35.7 million transactions with a value of 81.4 million billion VND (corresponding to a 9.6% increase in the number of transactions and a 36.81% increase in the value of transactions compared to the same period in 2024).

Transactions via Napas reached 2.45 billion items with a value of VND 14.97 trillion (an increase of 13.53% in volume and 2.54% in value compared to the same period in 2024); transactions via POS reached nearly 181.2 million items with a value of VND 292,241 trillion (an increase of 6.56% in volume and a decrease of 0.48% in value compared to the same period in 2024).

Meanwhile, ATM transactions decreased by 15.22% in volume and 4.22% in value compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 183.3 million transactions with a value of VND 662,835 billion.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/gan-86-trieu-tai-khoan-ngan-hang-ngu-dongsap-bi-xoa-so-20250602165130977.htm