Hanoi, Vietnam: Procedures for issuing bank cards in Vietnam from October 1, 2024

Procedures for issuing bank cards in Vietnam from October 1, 2024 (Internet image)

On 28/6/2024, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN on bank card operations.

Procedures for issuing bank cards in Vietnam from October 1, 2024

Procedures for issuing bank cards in Vietnam are specified in Article 9 of Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN as follows:

(1) The agreement on the issuance and use of cards must be formalized in a contract for the issuance and use of cards in accordance with Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN and relevant laws. The content of the contract follows the provisions in Article 12 of Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN.

(2) Before concluding the card issuance and use contract at the customer's request, the card issuing organization requires the cardholder to provide all documents, information, and data to identify the customer as specified by anti-money laundering laws and other relevant regulations:

• For Vietnamese individual customers, the card issuing organization requires customers to provide identification documents: Citizen Identity Card, Identity Card, or Electronic Identity (through access to level 02 electronic identification account) or Identity Card;

• For Vietnamese-origin individuals whose nationality is yet to be determined, the card issuing organization requires customers to provide identification documents: Identification Certificate;

• For foreign individual customers, the card issuing organization requires customers to provide identification documents: Passport and entry visa or documents substituting for visas or documents proving visa exemption; or electronic identity (through access to level 02 electronic identification account) (if available). Additionally, necessary documents must be provided to verify the residency period in Vietnam, such as a work permit or other documents issued by competent authorities in Vietnam;

• For organizational customers, the card issuing organization requires customers to provide information, documents, and data for customer identification following anti-money laundering laws and regulations of this Article; including documents, information, and data of the organization's legal representative or the authorized representative of another organization (hereinafter referred to as the legal representative).

(3) The collection and storage of customer documents, information, and data must meet the following requirements:

• Paper documents must be originals, certified copies, copies issued from the original register, or copies with the original for verification following legal regulations. When presenting the original for verification, the card issuing organization must confirm the copy and ensure its accuracy compared to the original;

• For electronic documents, information, and data, the card issuing organization must verify, confirm the completeness, accuracy, and store according to e-transaction laws;

• If the above documents, information, and data are in foreign languages, the card issuing organization can agree with the customer on whether to translate them into Vietnamese, ensuring the following principles:

(i) The card issuing organization must inspect, control, and verify the content of foreign language documents, information, and data to meet the information requirements in Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN;

(ii) Foreign language documents, information, and data must be translated when required by competent authorities;

• Documents, information, and data specified in item (2) must remain effective and in use throughout the card issuance and usage process.

(4) When issuing debit cards, the card issuing organization must require the primary cardholder to have a payment account at the issuing organization.

(5) The card issuing organization must stipulate the card validity period, with the validity of personalized prepaid cards not exceeding 03 years. Before renewing the card for customers, the card issuing organization must perform authentication, and re-verification of customers per anti-money laundering laws and regulations in Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN.

(6) At least 15 days before the planned issuance of a new card type or changes to the issued card sample, the card issuing organization must notify the State Bank of Vietnam using the form in Appendix No. 01 issued with Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN. Within 15 days from discontinuing the issuance of a card type, the card issuing organization must notify the State Bank of Vietnam in writing for monitoring and management.

(7) Based on the conditions and supply capacity of their unit, the card issuing organization guides the card issuance process for disabled customers but must ensure the collection of sufficient documents, information, and data to verify customer identification following anti-money laundering laws and Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN.

(8) In case of detecting customers using fake or illegal documents, information, or data, or customers on the Blacklist per anti-money laundering laws, the card issuing organization reports to the competent authority and handles it according to the law in Vietnam.

(9) The card issuing organization can issue debit cards, credit cards, and personalized prepaid cards to primary individual and organizational cardholders electronically. The procedures for issuing cards electronically follow the regulations in Articles 9 and 10 of Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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