Circular 30/2025/TT-NHNN amending Circular 15/2024/TT-NHNN on provision of non-cash payment services

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN on provision of non-cash payment services

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam No. 46/2010/QH12;

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15, which was amended and supplemented under Law No. 96/2024/QH15;

Pursuant to the Post Law No. 49/2010/QH12;

Pursuant to the Law on E-Transactions No. 20/2023/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 26/2025/ND-CP defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 52/2024/ND-CP on cashless payment;

At the proposal of the Director of the Payment Department;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam hereby promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN on provision of non-cash payment services.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing Clause 10, Article 3

“10. Personal papers include:

a) For Vietnamese citizens: citizen identity cards, identity cards, or electronic identity;

b) For individuals of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined: identity certificates;

c) For foreigners residing in Vietnam: passports or other documents proving personal identity issued by a competent foreign authority, accompanied by entry visas or documents in lieu of visas, or documents proving entry visa exemption; or electronic identity (by accessing a level-2 electronic identification account) (if any).

Personal papers must remain valid and within their effective period throughout the use of payment services.”.

Article 2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5, Article 6

“5. In case of detecting a case with signs of criminal activity, the payment service provider or intermediary payment service provider shall report it to the competent state authority in accordance with the law on criminal procedure and report in writing to the State Bank (the Payment Department, the regional State Bank branch in the area); at the same time, shall notify the customer in writing about the status of handling the reconciliation request or complaint. In case the competent state authority concludes that there is no criminal element in the case, within 15 working days from the date of the conclusion of the competent state agency, the payment service provider or intermediary payment service provider shall negotiate with the customer on a plan to handle the reconciliation or complaint resolution results.”.

Article 3. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 7

1. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 2, Article 7 as follows:

“a) A credit institution wishing to deposit or withdraw cash through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System needs to follow the following instructions: The credit institution’s head office or its branch in the area shall submit to the regional State Bank branch in the locality a registration list of officers authorized to execute cash transactions with the regional State Bank branch, together with an authorization letter for each officer signed by the legal representative of the credit institution (according to Appendix No. 01 to this Circular). The authorization letter must clearly state the information of the authorized person, the authorization period, and the content of the authorization regarding cash transactions and transportation;”.

2. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 2, Article 7 as follows:

“c) Procedures for cash deposit transactions at the regional State Bank branches: The credit institution's branch in the locality shall prepare a Cash Deposit Slip according to the form prescribed in the Accounting Regime for cash delivery and receipt, transfer, issuance, withdrawal, and destruction at the State Bank. The regional State Bank branch shall, based on the content of the Cash Deposit Slip, create a Transfer Order through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System to the receiving bank, which is the head office of the credit institution, for crediting the payment account of the head office of the credit institution opened at the State Bank’s Transaction Office. In cases where the regional State Bank branch has completed the procedures for receiving cash from credit institutions’ branches within the locality but the time for sending payment orders through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System has expired, the regional State Bank branch shall issue a money transfer order through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System to the head office of the credit institution on the following working day;”.

3. To amend and supplement Point d, Clause 2, Article 7 as follows:

“d) On a monthly basis, the regional State Bank branches shall determine the fees to be collected from the credit institution's branches in their areas (cash withdrawal fees, one-time payment fees) and issue a Debit Transfer Order through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System to the credit institution's head office for fee collection in accordance with the regulations of the State Bank. The sending of the Debit Transfer Order through the National Interbank Electronic Payment System for fee collection between the regional State Bank and the head office of the credit institution shall be based on a written agreement on interbank debt payment provided by the head office of the credit institution in accordance with regulations on management, operation, and use of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System;”.

4. To replace the phrase “State Bank branches of provinces and centrally-run cities” and “State Bank branch of province or centrally-run city” with the phrase “regional State Bank branches” in the first paragraph of Clause 2; Points b and dd, Clause 2, Article 7.

5. To replace the phrase “Interbank Electronic Payment System” with the phrase “National Interbank Electronic Payment System” in the first paragraph of Clause 2; Points b and dd, Clause 2, Article 7.

Article 4. Replacing a number of phrases in Clause 2, Article 12

1. To replace the phrase “remitter” with the phrase “remitting party”.

2. To replace the phrase “beneficiary” with the phrase “beneficiary party”.

Article 5. Amending and supplementing a number of points and clauses of Article 14

1. To amend and supplement Points b(i), (ii), Clause 2, Article 14 as follows:

“(i) When a customer requests to deposit cash for the purpose of having the public postal service enterprise transfer funds to the beneficiary, the public postal service enterprise shall guide the customer in completing the money transfer form as prescribed by such enterprise, ensuring that all necessary information of both the remitter and the beneficiary is fully provided, including name, address, telephone number, personal paper number of the individual or the representative of the organization, signature of the remitter; enterprise code (if any), and other relevant information;

Where the remitter is an individual, he/she shall present a personal paper when making the transfer. The remitter that is an authorized person must present a personal paper and a letter of authorization in accordance with law. Where the remitter is an organization, the representative of the organization shall present his/her personal paper and documents proving his/her lawful representative capacity of such organization when making the transfer. The public postal service enterprise shall take measures to verify and cross-check customer identification information and data, and retain them in accordance with the law;

When receiving a money transfer request, the public postal service enterprise shall be responsible for verifying the information provided in the money transfer form. After control, if the payment document prepared by the customer is lawful and valid, and the amount of cash deposited by the customer matches the amount stated in the transfer order, the staff member shall sign the document and carry out the money transfer procedures for the customer. No later than one working day from the time of receipt of the lawful and valid payment document from the customer, the public postal service enterprise must process and complete the outward money transfer for the customer;

(ii) Upon receipt of an incoming transfer order, the public postal service enterprise serving the beneficiary shall verify the payment documents to ensure their legality and validity. No later than one working day from the time of receipt of the incoming transfer order, the enterprise shall record that into the appropriate account and notify the beneficiary to collect the money, or deliver the money to the address requested by the remitter, as agreed;

Where the beneficiary is an individual, such person shall present a personal paper upon collecting the money. In case where the recipient is an authorized person, such authorized person shall present his/her personal paper and a letter of authorization in accordance with law. Where the beneficiary is an organization, the representative of the organization shall present his/her personal papers and documents proving his/her lawful representative capacity of such organization upon money receipt. The public postal service enterprise shall take measures to verify and cross-check customer identification information and data, and retain them in accordance with the law;”.

2. To add Clause 3a after Clause 3, Article 14 as follows:

“3a. Depending on each type of collection and payment service, the public postal service enterprise shall enter into a written agreement with the customer using the service, which shall include at least the following particulars:

a) Contract number/reference number of the written agreement;

b) Date (day, month, year) of execution;

c) Names and addresses of the participating parties;

d) Agreement on the time limits for processing payment and settlement transactions;

dd) Scope of service provision;

e) Customer categories;

g) Transaction locations;

h) Implementation of measures to ensure safety and confidentiality;

i) Provisions on rights and obligations of the parties;

k) Responsibilities for coordination in handling inquiries, complaints, and risk-related disputes arising during implementation, including specific provisions on the parties’ responsibilities in receiving information from customers, processing time limits, liabilities, and compensation plans for any losses incurred;

l) Provisions on collection and payment service fees;

m) Effectiveness of the contract or written agreement.

The parties may agree on other contents consistent with this Circular and relevant laws.”.

Article 6. Replacing the phrase at Point b(ii), Clause 1 and Point b(ii), Clause 2, Article 15

To replace the phrase “Agency performing the function of anti-money laundering” with the phrase “Anti-Money Laundering Department”.

Article 7. Amending and supplementing a number of points and clauses of Article 19

1. To amend and supplement the title of Article 19 as follows:

“Responsibilities of payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 19 as follows:

“1. Payment service providers shall notify and provide guidance for customers in the use of payment services provided by such providers; and for timely respond to or handle inquiries and complaints from organizations and individuals using payment services within the scope of their obligations and powers.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 19 as follows:

“2. Payment service providers shall execute payment transactions in a timely, safe, and accurate manner as agreed upon with organizations and individuals using payment services; and publicly post payment service fees.”.

4. To add Clauses 2a and 2b after Clause 2, Article 19 as follows:

“2a. Payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers shall take measures to ensure the smooth and continuous provision of payment services and intermediary payment services. The total duration of disruption of all online payment services and online intermediary payment services must not exceed 04 hours per year, and the duration of each service disruption must not exceed 30 minutes, except in cases of force majeure or system maintenance and upgrade that have been notified to customers at least 24 hours in advance and reported to the supervisory unit (the State Bank) via email address [email protected] for monitoring and follow-up purposes.

2b. Payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers shall report to the State Bank within 04 hours upon detecting any incident causing disruption exceeding 30 minutes to the operation of online payment services or online intermediary payment services (including cases of force majeure or cases exceeding the maintenance or upgrade period that had been notified 24 hours in advance) in accordance with Appendix No. 05 to this Circular. Within 03 working days from the date of completion of incident remediation, payment service providers and intermediary payment service providers shall submit a detailed incident report covering all contents specified in Appendix No. 05 to this Circular via email address [email protected] for monitoring and follow-up purposes.”.

5. To add Clause 3a after Clause 3, Article 19 as follows:

“3a. Payment service providers shall verify and control the legality and validity of payment orders, ensuring that the payment account number and payment account name are accurately reflected in accordance with the agreement on the opening and use of the customer’s payment account when conducting payment transactions, and that such information is fully displayed on the payment document.”.

6. To add Clause 3b after Clause 3a, Article 19 as follows:

“3b. When providing payment order or money transfer services through payment accounts or not through payment accounts, the payment service provider serving the payer shall, upon request from the payment service provider serving the payee, provide the minimum information related to the transaction, and they must ensure compliance with legal provisions on information provision and confidentiality, including:

a) Information on the payer, including name of the payer, payment account number of the payer or transaction reference number (where no payment account exists), and the address or identification number of the payer;

b) Information on the payee, including name of the payee, payment account number of the payee or transaction reference number (where no payment account exists).”.

7. To amend and supplement Clause 8, Article 19 as follows:

“8. Payment service providers shall take appropriate measures and solutions to ensure the verification and reconciliation of customer identification information, which must be accurately authenticated as issued by the Ministry of Public Security or authenticated through the individual’s electronic identification account established by the Electronic Identification and Authentication System in the course of performing payment transactions.”.

8. To amend and supplement Clause 9, Article 19 as follows:

“9. Payment service providers shall, based on the provisions of this Circular and relevant laws, promulgate, organize the implementation of, and fully comply with their internal procedures on the provision of non-cash payment services within their respective entities, and shall take legal responsibility for their internal procedures.”.

Article 8. Amending and supplementing Point a, Clause 3, Article 20

“a) To enter into a contract or written agreement with the merchant, which must clearly stipulate the following contents: rights and responsibilities of the parties; specific provisions that the merchant shall be responsible for the legality of goods and services supplied and shall commit not to engage in prohibited transactions under the law; requirements that the merchant shall commit not to differentiate prices or charge any additional amount or surcharge on payments for goods or services made via non-cash payment instruments compared to cash payment, and not to differentiate prices among various non-cash payment instruments; provisions on processing of customers’ personal data or personal data provided by customers, provision of information to third parties for the purpose of identifying the merchant; and cases in which the contract shall be terminated.”.

Article 9. Amending and supplementing Article 23

“Article 23. Implementation responsibility

1. The Payment Department shall

a) Monitor and cooperate with related units to handle difficulties arising in the course of implementation of this Circular;

b) Act as the focal point and coordinate with the State Bank’s Inspectorate and the Information Technology Department in inspecting compliance with regulations on payment service provision not through customers’ payment accounts by public postal service enterprises.

2. The State Bank’s Inspectorate, the Credit Institution Supervision Department, and regional State Bank branches shall

a) Inspect and supervise compliance with this Circular and handle violations within their competence, and notify the Payment Department for monitoring purposes;

b) Conduct inspections of activities related to the provision of payment services not through customers’ payment accounts by public postal service enterprises in accordance with law, handle violations within their competence, and report the inspection results to the Payment Department and relevant units.

3. Heads of units under the State Bank, payment service providers, intermediary payment service providers, and relevant organizations and individuals shall organize the implementation of this Circular.”.

Article 10. Amending and supplementing Appendices to Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN

1. To replace Appendix No. 01 to Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN with Appendix 01 to this Circular.

2. To replace Appendix No. 02 to Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN with Appendix 02 to this Circular.

3. To replace Appendix No. 04 to Circular No. 15/2024/TT-NHNN with Appendix 04 to this Circular.

4. To add Appendix 05.

Article 11. Implementation responsibility

Heads of units under the State Bank, payment service providers, intermediary payment service providers, and relevant organizations and individuals shall organize the implementation of this Circular.

Article 12. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on November 18, 2025, except for provisions of Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Provisions of Clause 5, Article 7 of this Circular take effect from April 01, 2026.

3. Provisions of Clause 2, Article 17 of Circular No. 41/2024/TT-NHNN dated July 17, 2024, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, prescribing the supervision and implementation of supervision of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities, are hereby annulled.

                               * All Appendices are not translated herein.