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 September, all bank accounts that have not been biometrically authenticated will be closed to prevent financial fraud.

Millions of bank accounts "hibernating"

On the afternoon of June 2, at the press conference announcing Cashless Day 2025, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department (State Bank) said that according to previous statistics, the whole country had 200 million bank accounts, but after the State Bank required biometric authentication, the number of "live" accounts remaining was 113 million personal accounts. In addition, there were more than 711,000 accounts belonging to organizations that had been authenticated.

These accounts have been cross-checked with the National Population Database. According to Mr. Tuan, unverified accounts may be inactive accounts, abandoned accounts, or accounts with signs of fraud that have been opened widely in the past and are no longer able to be legalized.

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

"This is a major screening by the banking industry to eliminate illegal accounts," Mr. Tuan emphasized. It is expected that from September, all accounts without biometric authentication will be closed to prevent financial fraud.

He also said that over the years, the banking industry has actively encouraged people to open accounts, but that has also created many risks related to fraud. “We need the whole society to work together to protect users from sophisticated forms of fraud,” he said.

According to the General Statistics Office, by the end of 2024, Vietnam will have about 69 million people aged 15 and over, of which more than 68 million have bank accounts. This figure reflects the strong development of non-cash payments in society.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan stated that cashless payment is not only a modern transaction method but also a strategic platform to help connect components in the digital economy .

“This is a key factor that helps the digital ecosystem operate smoothly, synchronously and increasingly complete, thereby bringing Vietnam closer to a transparent, comprehensive and modern economy,” Mr. Tuan emphasized.

E-wallet "upgraded" from July 1: Payments can be made like bank cards

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

Accordingly, the new regulation allows e-wallets to make payments at all acceptance points, transfer money flexibly between wallets or between wallets and bank accounts, and no longer requires going through a linked bank account.

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

In addition, the draft amendment to Circular 40, expected to take effect from September 1, will continue to create a favorable legal corridor for e-wallet development. However, Mr. Tuan emphasized that suppliers must ensure compliance with the law and must not support black credit, lottery or illegal trading floors.

From July 1, 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 about 30.27 million (accounting for 65.8% of the total of nearly 46 million activated e-Wallets) with the total amount of money on these wallets being over VND 2,800 billion.

Ho Chi Minh City aims for a cashless future

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, 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 retail growth target of 18%, higher than the average of previous years.

To realize this goal, Ho Chi Minh City is promoting consumer stimulus activities, in which the focused promotion program is 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, cuisine, health care, medical care , beauty and many other fields. This is an effort to form a comprehensive experience ecosystem for both residents and tourists.

“With synchronous implementation, starting with changing payment methods, I believe that Ho Chi Minh City is gradually moving towards a future where cash is no longer a popular means,” Mr. Phuong emphasized.

In the first quarter, transactions via the interbank electronic payment system reached nearly 35.7 million items with a value of VND 81.4 million billion (equivalent to an increase of 9.6% in quantity and an increase of 36.81% in transaction value compared to the same period in 2024).

Transactions via Napas reached 2.45 billion items with a value of VND 14.97 trillion (up 13.53% in quantity and 2.54% in value over the same period in 2024); transactions via POS reached nearly 181.2 million items with a value of VND 292,241 billion (up 6.56% in quantity and down 0.48% in value over the same period in 2024).

Meanwhile, ATM transactions decreased by 15.22% in quantity and 4.22% in value compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 183.3 million items 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