Biometric authentication is basically seamless

After a week of implementing biometric authentication for transfers over VND10 million/transaction, transactions have basically been smooth, with no more local congestion like the first day. Some banks have increased their staff to serve customers updating biometrics even on Saturdays and Sundays.

Enhanced customer support

In recent days, at the headquarters of the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) Khanh Hoa Branch, many people have come to update their personal accounts with biometrics. Mr. Truong Van Hau (Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang City) is one of the customers who regularly transfers large amounts of money during the day. Recently, he transferred over 10 million VND but could not do so, so he contacted the bank and was informed that he had to install biometrics. Because he is not familiar with technology, Mr. Hau went directly to the bank for installation instructions. "The bank staff gave quick instructions and made it simple. I think the biometric update regulation is another way to protect personal accounts," said Mr. Hau.

MB Khanh Hoa Branch staff support customers with biometric installation.

According to Ms. Bui Thi Dieu Anh - Director of MB Khanh Hoa Services, over the past week, many customers have come to MB's branch headquarters and transaction offices to update their biometrics. Since July 1, the head office and 3 affiliated transaction offices have welcomed more than 4,000 customers to perform biometrics. In addition to the team of transaction officers, the bank has also arranged additional credit staff to increase support during peak hours. At the same time, the bank has also increased working hours on weekdays to 9:00 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to perform biometrics installation for customers. Most customers encountered difficulties due to not having a chip-embedded citizen identification card, not having a phone that supports NFC technology; some older customers did not follow the instructions correctly... After being directly guided by bank staff, customers all successfully updated their biometrics.

In addition to MB Khanh Hoa, some banks with a large number of customers, such as Agribank , BIDV... arrange staff to work on Saturdays to support customers in updating biometrics. According to the reporter's investigation, some customers only need a few minutes to successfully install biometrics, but many people cannot do it, especially when scanning NFC on their citizen ID cards. In addition, some people said they have not performed biometrics, mostly because they have not had the need. "Biometric regulations only apply to transfers of over 10 million VND/transaction or transfers of over 20 million VND/day. I rarely make large transactions, so I am not in a hurry to perform biometric authentication right away. My money transfers are still normal as before without having to authenticate my face," said Ms. Le Hong Phan (Vinh Tho ward, Nha Trang).

The transactions have gone through.

Mr. Do Trong Thao - Acting Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Khanh Hoa Branch said that Decision No. 2345 dated December 18, 2023 of the SBV on implementing safety and security solutions in online payments and bank card payments are drastic and important solutions of the banking industry to ensure safety in online transactions and protect people's assets. Through monitoring the situation, banks in the area have seriously implemented Decision No. 2345, especially the biometric authentication regulations. On the first day of implementation, the systems of some banks reported errors, preventing customers from transferring money online. The cause of this situation was due to a sudden increase in traffic, causing the system to be overloaded. This situation was resolved by the banks immediately afterwards. Banks in the province have increased their staff, increased operating hours, and worked all weekend to support and directly guide customers to update their biometrics. So far, transactions and basic biometric updates have been running smoothly.

Agribank Khanh Hoa Branch staff support biometric installation for customers.

According to the authorities, recently, scammers impersonating bank employees contacted people directly by calling, texting, making friends through social networking sites (Zalo, Facebook...) and announcing the purpose of guiding the collection of biometric information according to State regulations. The subjects asked people to provide personal information, bank account information, citizen identification card images, facial images... to pretend to carry out procedures to collect biometric information similar to the procedures of banks in order to take control of the phone, seize accounts on the phone including bank accounts and personal information. Therefore, banks recommend that customers do not provide confidential information such as: OTP authentication code, card number, digital banking password... to anyone, including bank employees; do not download strange applications, access strange links outside the official application of the bank. In addition, the State Bank of Vietnam also recommends that people should limit access to public wifi networks to access the electronic banking system. In fact, there have been many cases of criminals taking advantage of loopholes in public wifi networks or pretending to broadcast wifi in public places to install applications running in the background on people's phones connected to wifi. From there, criminals will steal phone information, even take control of the phone and steal money in the account. Therefore, in addition to solutions from the banking industry, people need to raise awareness about network information security and strictly follow the instructions on using electronic banking services.

MAI HOANG

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/tai-chinh-ngan-hang/202407/xac-thuc-sinh-trac-hoc-da-co-ban-thong-suot-63455b3/