Bank transaction offices "heat up" at the end of the year
According to regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), from January 1, 2025, customers who have not updated their biometrics will have their online payment transactions stopped.
Circular 17 stipulates that account holders can only withdraw money and make payments electronically after verifying their identity documents and biometrics through the police or the VNeID system. Circular 18 adds that online card transactions can only be performed after the cardholder has verified their biometrics with the bank, financial company, etc.
However, many people still have difficulty registering online because their phones cannot read NFC, Face ID scans fail, or they have not updated their new IDs. Reporters from Lao Dong Newspaper noted that in the days approaching January 1, 2025, the number of customers coming to bank counters has increased significantly.
Elderly customers, shippers struggle due to technical errors
At M Bank (My Dinh, Hanoi), the transaction office has a separate counter for people coming to authenticate their biometrics. It is noted that after taking a number, customers usually wait about 15 - 20 minutes to complete. Most of them are elderly people who have difficulty using the application (app) or customers whose phones do not support NFC.
Ms. L.T.H. (65 years old, Nam Tu Liem) said: "I tried to authenticate at home but I'm not used to using a smartphone, so I had to go to the counter. Luckily, the staff gave me detailed instructions and it was done quite quickly."
Similarly, Mr. N.M.B. (29 years old, Nam Tu Liem) - a technology driver - shared: "Every day I have to receive money from customers, so it is very important that the account is stable. I tried to authenticate online but it reported an NFC error, so I had to go to the counter to be sure."
Year-end trading demand causes local transaction offices to be overloaded
Not only due to biometric updates, the demand for settlement and transfer of money increased sharply at the end of the year, causing the transaction counter to be crowded. At T Bank, Tran Thai Tong branch (Cau Giay), customers only need 5 minutes to authenticate their biometrics, but the staff is still busy handling a series of other transaction requests.
A T bank employee shared: "We just received our New Year bonus, so our working spirit is more excited, trying to complete the KPI for the last quarter of the year."
V.N.A - an employee of V Bank also said: "At the end of the year, the number of customers coming to withdraw money, transfer money or close savings books increases. We often have to work overtime."
Many banks open after hours, running "sprint"
At Vietcombank, transaction counters have been operating outside of business hours and on weekends for more than a month now, expected to last until mid-January 2025. Thanks to the increased service hours, the bank said it has supported nearly 10 million customers to successfully update their biometrics, of which 25% did it online via the VNeID connection application, without the need for NFC scanning.
OCB also sent out a notice to promote propaganda, provide 24/7 support via free hotline, rapid response team and deploy OCB Assist application at branches/transaction offices so that staff can collect biometrics for customers who cannot register online.
In addition, the bank also integrates the function of updating documents and biometrics on OCB OMNI and Liobank from May 2024.
According to data from the State Bank of Vietnam, as of December 20, about 80% of card accounts and payment accounts of customers in the entire system have been biometrically authenticated. Of the more than 84.5 million customers who registered to use online accounts, 61.5 million have completed the update.
