Are accounts of individual owners of private enterprises considered accounts of private enterprises in Vietnam?

Are accounts of individual owners of private enterprises considered accounts of private enterprises in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 11 of Circular 23/2014/TT-NHNN as amended by Clause 6, Article 1 of Circular 02/2019/TT-NHNN stipulating subjects to open payment accounts are as follows:

1. The following individuals are eligible to open current accounts at banks or branches of foreign banks:

a) A person who is aged exactly 18 years or older and has full capacity for civil acts as regulated by the Law of Vietnam;  

b) A person who is aged between exactly 15 and nearly 18 years and does not have his/her incapacity or restricted capacity for civil acts;

c) A person who is under the age of 15, has restricted capacity for civil acts or is incapable of civil acts as defined by the Law of Vietnam is entitled to open a current account via his/her legal representative;

d) A person who has limited cognition and behavioral control as defined by the Law of Vietnam may open a current account via his/her guardian.

2. The organizations that are duly established and operate under the Law of Vietnam, including: legal entities, private enterprises, household businesses and other organizations, are allowed to open current accounts at banks or branches of foreign banks in accordance with laws.

Thus, private enterprises are still allowed to open payment accounts at banks and foreign bank branches in Vietnam. Therefore, in some cases the bank account holder of a private enterprise will be an organization instead of the legal representative or authorized representative of the business.

What does application file for opening a payment account for a corporate in Vietnam comprise?

According to Article 12 of Circular 23/2014/TT-NHNN as amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular 16/2020/TT-NHNN, application for checking account opening is as follows:

1. With regard to a personal checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 1 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) The applicant’s identity papers, including the citizen identity card or ID card or unexpired passport or birth certificate (if the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen aged under 14 years), or unexpired entry visa or certificate of visa exemption (if the applicant is a foreigner), except a checking account opened by a foreigner as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 14 of this Circular;

c) If a checking account is opened by a person’s guardian or legal representative (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant’s legal representative”), in addition to the documents specified in Point a, b Clause 1 of this Article, the application for checking account opening must also include the following documents:

- If the applicant’s legal representative is an individual: his/her identity papers and documents proving his/her capacity as a legal representative of the applicant for the checking account;

- If the applicant’s legal representative is a juridical person: its establishment decision, operation license, enterprise registration certificate or other documents as prescribed by law; documents proving its capacity as a legal representative of the applicant for the checking account; identity papers and documents proving the representative capacity of its legal representative.

2. With regard to a corporate checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 2 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) Documents proving that the organization opening the checking account is duly established and legally operating, including:  establishment decision, operation license, enterprise registration certificate or other documents as prescribed by law;

c) Documents proving the capacity of legal representatives of the organization and their identity papers;

d) Decision on appointment of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works or accounting service contract (if outsourced accounting is used) and identity papers of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works.

3. With regard to a shared checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 3 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) Documents about the holders of the shared checking account:

- If the holder of the shared checking account is an individual, the application for checking account opening shall include the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

- If the holder of the shared checking account is an organization, the application for checking account opening shall include the documents specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

c) If the agreement or contract (hereinafter referred to as “agreement”) on opening and use of checking account does not include contents about the management and use of the shared checking account by its holders, a separate agreement on the management and use of the shared checking account between the holders of that shared checking account is required.

4. Documents included in the application for checking account opening specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article are originals or electronic copies or certified true copies or copies issued from their master registers or copies presented with their originals for verification purpose as prescribed by law. If a copy is presented with its original for verification purpose, the bank or foreign bank branch shall make a certification on the received copy and assume responsibility for the accuracy of the received copy compared to its original. Documents issued by foreign competent authorities must bear consular legalization in accordance with regulations of law. If documents included in an application for checking account opening are electronic copies, the bank or foreign bank branch must adopt solutions/technologies for collecting, checking and verifying information to ensure that contents of such electronic copies are adequate, accurate and corresponding with the originals.

5. The bank or foreign bank branch must enter into an agreement with its client on whether or not foreign language documents included in the application for checking account opening are translated into Vietnamese according to the following rules:

a) The bank or foreign bank branch must check, control and ensure the accuracy and adequacy of Vietnamese translations compared to their original foreign language documents;

b) Foreign language documents must be translated at the request of competent authorities. Translations must bear certification of a competent official of the bank, or foreign bank branch, or must be notarized or certified

According to this Article, applications for checking account opening at a bank or foreign bank branch in Vietnam are specified above.

Best Regards!