From July 1, 2024: Content of operation of payment agents in Vietnam

From July 1, 2024: Content of operation of payment agents in Vietnam (Image from the internet)

On June 21, 2024, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN, regulating operation of payment agents.

Content of operation of payment agents from July 1, 2024

The principal can delegate the agent to perform one or several of the following tasks:

• Receive applications for opening payment accounts, check, and verify customer identification information to send to the principal and guide customers in using payment accounts.

• Receive applications for issuing bank cards, check, and verify customer identification information to send to the principal and guide customers in using bank cards.

• Receive requests for payment services from customers, prepare, sign, control, process customer transaction documents, transfer customer transaction information to the principal, and handle cash from or to customers to perform the following transactions:

  • Deposit/withdraw cash into/from the customer's payment account opened at the principal;

  • Deposit/withdraw cash into/from the customer's identified debit card, prepaid card issued by the principal;

  • Deposit cash to pay off the customer's credit card debt issued by the principal;

  • Perform payment services such as payment orders, collection orders, collection authorizations, money transfers, collection for payment, payment for collection.

• Within one working day from the time of receiving the customer's request for payment services, the agent must process the customer transaction documents and transfer customer transaction information to the principal, except in cases of system failure and/or other force majeure conditions preventing the customer's transaction.

(Article 4 Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN)

Principles for operation of payment agents from July 1, 2024

• Operation of payment agents must be established through a written contract between the principal and the agent under the provisions of Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN and other relevant legal regulations.

• The principal can delegate the agent to carry out the tasks stipulated in Article 4 Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN in compliance with the content recorded in the Establishment and Operation License or Establishment Decision or Decision on the organization and operation of the competent authority and the amendments, supplements to the License, Decision (if any) of the principal, the agent is a credit institution, foreign bank branch.

• The agent is not allowed to delegate the agency to a third party.

• When performing tasks stipulated in Clause 3, Article 4 Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN, the agent must open and maintain a payment account at the principal to perform the delegated tasks within the balance agreed upon by the principal and the agent; this payment account must be separate from other payment accounts serving other activities, purposes of the agent opened at the principal.

• The principal charges customers through the agent according to the fees regulated by the principal periodically. The principal and the agent cannot collect additional fees beyond what is stipulated and announced by the principal. The fee schedule of the principal must clearly state the types of fees and applicable rates for each type of service, in compliance with the law and publicly posted at payment agency points and on the agent's website (if any).

• The principal and the agent must commit to the confidentiality of customer information in compliance with the Law on Credit Institutions, guiding documents, and other relevant legal regulations.

• The principal can sign payment agency contracts with other organizations nationwide. The number of payment agency points of other organizations must ensure that payment agency points on district-level locations (excluding districts, towns, provincial cities, centrally run municipal cities) in provinces and centrally-run cities account for over 70% of the principal’s total payment agency points.

• The number of payment agency credit institutions, foreign bank branches shall be decided by the principal, matching its management capability; the number of payment agent points of credit institutions, and foreign bank branches shall be decided by such institutions and branches based on their operational networks.

(Article 5 Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN)

For detailed content, refer to Circular 07/2024/TT-NHNN which takes effect from July 1, 2024.

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