Regulations on provision of intermediary payment service in Vietnam

Regulations on provision of intermediary payment service in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. What is intermediary payment service?

According to Clause 10, Article 6 of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam 2010, intermediary payment service means an intermediary activity for connecting, transmitting and processing e-data on payment transactions between payment service providers and users.

2. Regulations on provision ofintermediary payment services in Vietnam

Regulations on intermediary payment services under Chapter III of Circular 39/2014/TT-NHNN (amended in Circular 23/2019/TT-NHNN) is as follows:

2.1. Risk management, safety guarantee, security in Vietnam

- Providers of intermediary payment services must build and comply with internal regulations and regulations of the State Bank on the principles of risk management in electronic banking operations and the provisions of the current law on the prevention of money laundering and other provisions of related Vietnam law.

- Providers of intermediary payment services must comply with requirements for guarantee of safety and security of information technology systems in banking operations and the provision of electronic banking services as prescribed in the State Bank.

- Providers of intermediary payment services must comply with the provisions on the establishment, use, and archive of electronic documents as prescribed in the Law on electronic transactions in banking operations .

2.2. Solvency guarantee in Vietnam

- Providers of services auxiliary to authorized cash collection and payment services must agree with their acquiring partner banks on solvency guarantee measures for provision of these services, including opening payment guarantee accounts for services auxiliary to authorized cash collection and payment services or leaving margins or taking other security measures.

- Providers of electronic wallet services must open payment guarantee accounts to provide security for provision of these services. Payment guarantee accounts for provision of electronic wallets shall not be the same as those for provision of services auxiliary to authorized cash collection and payment services (if any), and must be separated from other payment accounts opened at acquiring partner banks.

Providers of electronic wallet services shall be obliged to keep total balance in all payment guarantee accounts for provision of electronic wallet services opened at acquiring partner banks not lower than total balance in all electronic wallets of customers at the same time.

- Payment guarantee accounts for provision of electronic wallet services may be used for:

+ Depositing payments into payment accounts or debit cards that merchants open at acquiring banks;

+ Sending reimbursements to payment accounts or debit cards of customers (electronic wallet holders) in the following cases:

++ Customers withdraw money from electronic wallets to their payment accounts or debit cards;

++ Customers no longer need electronic wallets;

++ Providers of electronic wallet services cease providing such services to customers;

++ Providers of electronic wallet services terminate their business, are deprived of licenses, are dissolved or bankrupt in accordance with laws;

+ Depositing payments into merchant accounts of providers of public services in the event that customers use electronic wallets to make payments, pay fees or charges for legal public services as provided in law;

+ Transferring money to payment guarantee accounts for other electronic wallet services which are opened by the same providers of electronic wallet services.

2.3.  E-wallet provision in Vietnam

(1) Application requirements for opening electronic wallets:

- Personal electronic wallets:

+ Information of the applicant for opening electronic wallets which is requested by the provider of electronic wallet service and conforms to regulations laid down in item (2);

+ Old or new-version ID card or passport remaining valid, birth certificate (applicable to Vietnamese citizens aged under 14 years); immigration visa or any document proving exemption from the immigration visa requirement which is granted to the applicant for electronic wallet (applicable to foreign nationals);

- Institutional electronic wallets:

+ Information of the applicant for opening electronic wallets which is requested by the provider of electronic wallet service and conforms to regulations laid down in item (2);

+ One of documents evidencing the organization applying for opening of electronic wallet is established and operated on a legal manner, including establishment decision, enterprise registration certificate, investment certificate and other documents required by law;

+ Documents evidencing the status of representation held by the legal representative or the authorized representative of the organization applying for opening of electronic wallet, enclosing old or new-version ID card or passport thereof;

- Customers applying for opening of electronic wallets can present documents referred to in a(ii), b(ii) and b(iii) of Article 9 of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam 2010 which are original, duplicate or scanned from original ones or in other forms in accordance with regulations imposed by providers of electronic wallets;

- Customers can register and send application for opening of electronic wallets directly to main offices, branches and transaction offices of providers of electronic wallet services or online transaction channels of providers of electronic wallet services or by other means prescribed in regulations of providers of electronic wallet services and in conformance to laws.

(2) Information about customers applying for opening of electronic wallets, including:

- Personal electronic wallets:

+ With regard to Vietnamese citizens, full name, date of birth, nationality, telephone number, number of old or new version ID card, passport remaining valid, date and place of issuance must be provided;

+ With regard to foreign citizens, full name, date of birth, nationality, telephone number, number of passport remaining valid, date and place of issuance, immigration visa (if any) must be provided;

- Institutional electronic wallets:

+ In-full and abbreviated transaction name, corporate code, tax identification number (if the applicant’s tax identification number is different from the corporate code), main office address, transaction address and telephone number;

+ Information about the legal representative of the organization applying for opening of electronic wallet which is provided as prescribed in point a of this clause;

- Providers of electronic wallet services must set out rules and regulations on registration for opening and use of their electronic wallets and must publicly inform customers prior to registration for opening of electronic wallets. In addition to regulations laid down in point a and b of this clause, providers of electronic wallet services may impose requirements for provision of other information on specific customers which conform to regulations of laws provided that they give clear notices and instructions to customers.

(3) If a person applying for opening of electronic wallets holds a payment account opened in the custody of a guardian or legal representative, in addition to documents and information prescribed in item (1) and (2), application for opening of an electronic wallet must include the followings:

- If the guardian or legal representative of an electronic wallet holder is a person, application for opening of an electronic wallet must additionally include old or new version ID card or passport remaining valid of that guardian or legal representative, And other documents evidencing guardianship or legal representation status over the electronic wallet holder. Information about the guardian or legal representative shall be subject to regulations laid down in point a of clause 2 of Article 9 of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam 2010;

- If the guardian or legal representative of the electronic wallet holder is a legal entity, application for opening of electronic wallet must additionally include one of the documents evidencing that such entity is established and operated legally, documents evidencing the status of guardianship or legal representation of that entity over the electronic wallet holder. All information about the guardian or legal representative shall be subject to point b of clause 2 of Article 9 of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam 2010 while all information about legal representative of that entity shall be subject to point a of clause 2 of Article 9 of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam 2010.

(4) Authentication of information about customers applying for opening of electronic wallets:

- Electronic wallet holder must provide updated and accurate information included in application for opening of electronic wallets to the provider of electronic wallet services, and must bear responsibility for authenticity of provided information;

- Provider of electronic wallet services shall be responsible for checking and verifying documents submitted to apply for opening of electronic wallet, and ensuring that they are provided in a full and valid manner as provided in item (1), (2) and (3).

(5) Linking electronic wallets to payment accounts or debit cards of customers (electronic wallet holders) opened at affiliate banks:

- Providers of electronic wallet services must request customers to complete connection of electronic wallets to their payment accounts or debit cards opened at affiliate banks before they start using electronic wallets;

- Electronic wallets must be linked to Vietnamese-dong payment accounts or debit cards (linked to Vietnam-dong payment accounts) that customers open at affiliate banks;

- Providers of electronic wallet services must agree with affiliate banks or providers of electronic transfer switch and clearing services on procedures and approaches for connection of electronic wallets to their payment accounts or debit cards;

- Customers may connect their electronic wallets to one or multiple payment accounts or debit cards of customers (electronic wallet holders) opened at affiliate banks.

(6) Use of electronic wallets:

- Electronic wallets may be replenished from:

+ Payment accounts or debit cards of customers (electronic wallet holders) opened at banks;

+ Money transfers received from other e-wallets under the control of the same providers of e-wallet services;

- Customers may use electronic wallets for:

+ Paying for legitimate goods and services;

+ Transferring money to other e-wallets under the control of the same providers of e-wallet services;

+ Withdrawing money from e-wallets to make deposits into payment accounts or debit cards (electronic wallet holders) issued by banks.

- Total maximum limit on transactions performed via a personal electronic wallet of a customer at a provider of electronic wallet services (including payments for legal goods and services and money transfers from this electronic wallet to the other opened by the same provider of electronic wallet services) shall be 100 (one hundred) million of Vietnamese dong per month;

- Regulations laid down in this clause shall not apply to personal electronic wallets of persons signing merchant contracts/agreements to become entities accepting payments with providers of electronic wallet services;

- Any act of using e-wallets to carry out transactions for money laundering, terrorism financing, fraudulent and other law-breaking purposes; hiring or leasing out, borrowing or borrowing out electronic wallets or purchasing or selling electronic wallet information, shall be strictly prohibited;

- Providers of electronic wallet services shall not extend credit to customers using electronic wallets, pay interest on electronic wallet balances or any act that may result in increase in monetary value in an electronic wallet compared to that loaded into that electronic wallet.

(7) Providers of electronic wallet services must provide tools for the state bank to oversee provision of electronic wallet services. Surveillance tools must meet the following requirements:

- These tools must allow supervision of the number of electronic wallets (already issued, activated or active), total balances in electronic wallets of all customers at the time of access to such tools;

- These tools must allow oversight of total balances in payment guarantee accounts for electronic wallet services, information of each payment guarantee account for electronic wallet services opened at acquiring partner banks, including account holder's name, account code and balance determined at the time of access to these tools;

- These tools can authorize access to data collected in a reporting month (from the initial day to the last day of the month) on the 5th day of the following month at the latest, including the following data:

+ The number of electronic wallets and total balances in electronic wallets (already issued, activated and active) determined at the end date of the reporting period; the number and total value of top-up, withdrawal, payment and other transactions in electronic wallets which are daily counted each month;

+ The number and total value of debit-side and credit-side transactions of payment guarantee accounts for provision of electronic wallet services which are daily counted each month;

+ Information about 10 top electronic wallets having the large number of transactions and 10 top electronic wallets creating the highest transaction value which are arranged in line with specific customers (including business merchants, individual or institutional customers, but excluding individuals or entities accepting payments), comprising information about opening, closing balances; the number and total value of top-up, withdrawal transactions of specific affiliate banks; the number and total value of payment and money transfer transactions; the number and total value of other transactions (if any) (only taking into account transactions successfully processed by payment facilitation systems). The number of electronic wallets to be reported may vary depending on the state bank’s request.”.

Quoc Dat

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