What is a payment agency agreement according to the law in Vietnam? What are required contents in a payment agency agreement in Vietnam?

In Vietnam, the payment agency agreement is one of the indispensable contracts when there is a need to provide goods and products. The following article will provide additional information about this type of contract.

1. What is a payment agency agreement according to the law in Vietnam?

According to Article 3 of Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, the concept of payment agency activities and payment agency agreements is defined as follows:

- Payment agency activity is when the payment agency principal authorizes the payment agent to carry out part of the process of opening payment accounts, issuing bank cards, and providing payment services to customers.

- A payment agency agreement is an agreement between the payment agency principal and the payment agent regarding the implementation of part of the process of opening payment accounts, issuing bank cards, and providing payment services to customers.

We can understand that a payment agency agreement is an agreement between two parties, in which the payment agency principal authorizes the payment agent to implement part of the process of opening payment accounts, issuing bank cards, and providing payment services to customers.

The payment agency principal includes: commercial banks, cooperative banks, branches of foreign banks.

The payment agent includes: commercial banks, cooperative banks, branches of foreign banks, people's credit funds, microfinance institutions, other organizations.

2. What are contents in the payment agency agreement in Vietnam?

According to Article 8 of Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN, the contents in the payment agency agreement in Vietnam include the following:

(1) Name, address of the payment agency principal, legal representative or authorized representative of the payment agency principal;

(2) Name, address of the payment agent, legal representative or authorized representative of the payment agent;

(3) Scope of the payment agency, including the activities authorized for the agent and the applicable limits for customers and the agent;

(4) Term of the payment agency;

(5) Daily transaction time and working hours;

(6) Payment agency fee;

(7) Number of agency points or a list of agency points;

(8) Rights and obligations of the payment agency principal and the payment agent;

(9) Dispute resolution methods;

(10) Termination of the payment agency agreement.

Besides the aforementioned contents, the parties can agree on other contents in the payment agency agreement according to the provisions of this Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN and related legal regulations.

3. What are responsibilities of the payment agency principal in implementing payment agency activities in Vietnam?

According to Article 11 of Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN, the payment agency principal in Vietnam has the following responsibilities in implementing payment agency activities:

- At least 30 days before implementing the payment agency activities, the payment agency principal must send a written notice to the State Bank of Vietnam (Payment Department), the State Bank branch of the province or centrally-affiliated city where the principal's headquarters are located and in areas where there are payment agency points, and post detailed information about the payment agent, methods of cooperation, scope of the agency, term of the agency, and methods of managing the agency points on its electronic information portal.

- Quarterly, the payment agency principal must send a report on the status of payment agency activities according to the Appendix issued with this Circular to the State Bank of Vietnam (Payment Department) for monitoring.

- When ceasing payment agency activities with a payment agent, within no more than 5 working days, the payment agency principal must send a written notice to the State Bank of Vietnam (Payment Department), the State Bank branch of the province or centrally-affiliated city where the principal's headquarters are located and in areas where the payment agency points cease operations for monitoring and supervision, and post the information on its electronic information portal.

- By the 10th of each month at the latest, the payment agency principal must send a report on the list of payment agents, payment agency points with signs of fraud, and forgery as guided by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Sincerely!

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