Circular 45/2025/TT-NHNN amend Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN on bank card operations

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 18/2024/TT-NHNN prescribing bank card operations

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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, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 96/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Anti-Money Laundering No. 14/2022/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 52/2024/ND-CP on non-cash payment;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 19/2023/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering;

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;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Payment Department;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 18/2024/TT-NHNN prescribing bank card operations.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing a number of clauses of Article 3

1. To amend and supplement Clause 15 as follows:

“15. The supplementary cardholder means an individual authorized by the primary cardholder in writing to use the card (if the primary cardholder is an individual) or authorized in writing by the primary cardholder to use the organization’s card (if the primary cardholder is an organization).”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 24 as follows:

“24. Card acceptance devices at the point of sale include Point of Sale (abbreviated as POS), Mobile Point of Sale (abbreviated as mPOS), and other types of card acceptance devices, which are card readers and terminal devices installed and used at card-accepting merchants that cardholders can use their cards to pay for goods and services. Card acceptance devices may also be installed at branches, transaction offices and payment agent locations (as prescribed in the Circular on payment agency activities) of card acquirers to provide cash to cardholders according to the agreement between card acquirers and card issuers, in compliance with the scope of using card as prescribed in this Circular.”.

Article 2. Amending and supplementing a number of clauses of Article 9

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Prior to entering into the card issuance and use agreement at the request of the client, the card issuer requires the cardholder to provide all necessary documents, information, and data for client identification in accordance with the laws on anti-money laundering and relevant law regulations:

a) If individual clients are Vietnamese citizens, the card issuer shall require the client to provide identification documents to recognize the client: Citizen Identification Card or Identity Card or Electronic Identity Card;

b) If individual clients are people of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined, the card issuer shall require the client to provide identification documents to recognize the client: Certificate of Identity;

c) If individual clients are foreigners, the card issuer shall require the client to provide identification documents to recognize the client: Passport or electronic identity (through access to the Level 02 electronic identification account) (if any). The card issuer requires the client to provide the necessary documents for verification of the permitted period of residence in Vietnam;

d) If clients are organizations, the card issuer requires the client to provide information, documents, and data to recognize the client in accordance with the laws on anti-money laundering and the provisions of this Article; including documents, information, and data of the legal representative of the organization or the authorized representative of the organization (below referred to as the “legal representative”) and the supplementary cardholder.”.

2. To add Clause 2a and Clause 2b after Clause 2 as follows:

“2a. Upon receipt of the complete documents, information, and data provided by the clients in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article, the Card Issuer shall carry out the review of legality and validity and the reconciliation to ensure the consistency and accuracy of the documents, information, and data provided by the clients and conduct verification of customer identification information in accordance with anti-money laundering laws and the following provisions:

a) For individual clients:

(i) If the customer uses an identity card, an electronic identity card, a citizen identity card (with an encrypted information storage component), or an electronic identity, the card issuer shall conduct an in-person meeting with the customer and implement inspection and verification of the identification document, and carry out biometric matching of the customer’s biometric information, in accordance with Point b Clause 1 Article 10 of this Circular;

(ii) If the customer uses a citizen identity card (without an encrypted information storage component), an identity certificate, or a passport, the card issuer shall conduct an in-person meeting with the customer and implement inspection and verification of the identification document, carry out biometric matching of the customer’s biometric information against the biometric information displayed on such person’s identification document;

b) For organizational clients: The card issuer shall conduct an in-person meeting with the organization’s legal representative to perform inspection and verification of the organization’s legal representative’s information in accordance with Point a of this Clause;

c) The card issuer is not required to comply with Point b of this Clause with respect to the following organizations:

(i) State agencies and public non-business units;

(ii) Credit institutions and branches of foreign banks;

(iii) Listed entities as prescribed in the Law on Securities;

(iv) Organizations included in the Fortune Global 500 list published by Fortune magazine in the immediately preceding year;

(v) Other organizations as selected by the card issuer, which shall bear full responsibility for all risks arising from such selection. The list of organizations selected by the card issuer shall conform to the criteria set out in the card issuer’s internal regulations on card issuance and use. The card issuer shall ensure accurate verification of the card-issuing client and bear full responsibility for client identification conducted at its institution;

d) If the client registers for transactions via an application software providing online services in the banking sector, the card issuer shall verify the cardholder’s telephone number or the legal representative’s telephone number (for an organizational client) to ensure that the subscriber identity information of the person using such telephone subscription matches the information on his/her identification document.

2b. Clause 2a of this Article shall not apply to card issuance in accordance with Article 10 of this Circular.”.

Article 3. Amending and supplementing a number of points and clauses of Article 10

1. To replace the phrase “legal representative” with the phrase “individual legal representative” at Point a, Point b Clause 1, and Point b Clause 2.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Card issuance by electronic means under this Article shall not apply to the subjects specified at Point b Clause 1, and Point b and Point c Clause 3 Article 15 of this Circular.”.

Article 4. Amending and supplementing Point d, Clause 1 Article 11

“d) The full name of the cardholder for individual cardholders; the name of the organization and the full name of supplementary cardholder for organizational cardholders. This provision shall not apply to anonymous prepaid cards.”

Article 5. Amending and supplementing a number of points of Clause 1 Article 12

1. To amend and supplement Point c as follows:

“c) The name of the card issuer; the cardholder’s full name for individual clients; the organization’s name, the Legal Representative’s full name, and the supplementary cardholder’s full name for organizational clients;”.

2. To amend and supplement Point h as follows:

“h) The scope, use limit, validity period of the card, and the permitted card use period for cardholders who are foreign nationals, as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 15 of this Circular;”.

Article 6. Amending and supplementing Clause 3 Article 13

“3. For credit cards, the aggregate cash withdrawal limit applicable to a cardholder, calculated based on the credit card’s BIN, shall not exceed 100,000,000 VND (one hundred million Vietnamese dong) per month.”.

Article 7. Amending and supplementing a number of clauses of Article 15

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. If the primary cardholder is an organization: An organization eligible to open a payment account in accordance with law regulations may use a debit card. An organization being a legal entity established and lawfully operating in accordance with the laws of Vietnam may use a credit card and an identified prepaid card. The organizational primary cardholder shall grant written authorization to the supplementary cardholder to use that organization’s card in accordance with this Circular and the laws on authorization.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. For the supplementary cardholder: The primary cardholder shall provide a written undertaking to perform all obligations arising in connection with the supplementary cardholder’s use of the card under the card issuance and use agreement. The supplementary cardholder may use the card as specifically designated by the primary cardholder, but only within the following scope:

a) A person aged full 18 years or older, having full civil act capacity in accordance with laws, may use a debit card, a credit card, and a prepaid card;

b) A person from full 15 years of age to under 18 years of age, whose civil act capacity is neither lost nor restricted, may use a debit card, a credit card, and a prepaid card;

c) A person from full 6 years of age to under 15 years of age, whose civil act capacity is neither lost nor restricted, may use a debit card and a prepaid card, subject to the written consent of his/her legal representative (the primary cardholder) to such card use.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. If the eligible card user prescribed in Clause 1 or Clause 3 of this Article is a foreign national, the use period of card shall not exceed the remaining permitted period of residence in Vietnam.”.

Article 8. Amending and supplementing a number of points and clauses of Article 16

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. A credit card shall be used for payment for lawful goods and services; cash withdrawal subject to the agreement between the cardholder and the card issuer; not be used for transfers (or credits) to a payment account, debit card, prepaid card, or e-wallet.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. The card shall be used to conduct card transactions by electronic means only after completion of the verification and matching of the cardholder’s identification documents and biometric information (for cards of individual clients), and of the Legal Representative’s identification documents and biometric information (for cards of organizational clients), with:

a) Biometric data stored in the encrypted information storage component of the citizen identity card or the identity card, which has been accurately authenticated as issued by the competent public security authority, or via authentication of that person’s electronic identification account created by the Electronic Identification and Authentication System; or

b) Biometric data that has been collected and verified (ensuring a match between that person’s biometric data and the biometric data stored in the encrypted information storage component of the Citizen Identity Card or Identity Card, which has been accurately authenticated as issued by the competent public security authority, or with that person’s biometric data via authentication of the electronic identification account created by the Electronic Identification and Authentication System); or

c) Biometric data collected through an in-person meeting with such person, in the case of a foreign national who does not use an electronic identity, or a person of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined; or

d) That person’s biometric data stored in the National Population Database, if a citizen identity card without an encrypted information storage component is used.”.

3. To add Clause 7 and Clause 8 Article 16 as follows:

“7. For an organizational client, the supplementary cardholder may use the card to conduct transactions by electronic means after the organization has complied with Clause 6 of this Article and has registered with the card issuer to permit such supplementary cardholder to conduct card transactions by electronic means.

8. The provisions of Clause 6 of this Article shall not apply in the following cases:

a) Conducting transactions using a physical card at an automated teller machine;

b) Making payment at a point-of-sale card acceptance device;

c) Cash withdrawal at a card acceptance device installed at a branch, transaction office, or payment agent location of the card acquirer for the provision of cash to the cardholder;

d) Automatic debit according to the agreement between the card issuer and the cardholder;

e) The cardholder being an organization prescribed at Point c Clause 2a Article 9 of this Circular.”.

Article 9. Amending and supplementing a number of points and clauses of Article 17

1. To amend and supplement Point e Clause 1 as follows:

“e) Implementing measures for inspection, reconciliation, and verification of customer identification information during the card issuance and use process, including:

(i) Measures for review of legality and validity, and reconciliation to ensure the consistency and accuracy of the customer’s documents, information, and data collected during the card issuance and use process; the periodic performance of reconciliation and re-verification of customer identification information during the period of using card;

(ii) Measures to prevent impersonation, interference, alteration, or falsification in the verification of customer identification information during the card issuance and use process;

(iii) Technical measures and technological solutions for biometric matching of the customer’s biometric information in accordance with Point b Clause 1 Article 10 and Clause 6 Article 16 of this Circular;

(iv) Measures to ensure that the card is used by the cardholder himself/herself; including the application of electronic transaction authentication methods to online card payment transactions in accordance with the State Bank of Vietnam’s regulations on safety and security for the provision of online services in the banking sector;

(v) Other measures as prescribed by the card acquirer for the prevention and mitigation of risks of fraud, scams, legal violations, or misuse of cards for unlawful purposes;”.

2. To amend and supplement Point i (iii) Clause 1 as follows:

“(iii) Cases of refusal or suspension of card transactions by electronic means; including cases that transactions arise on the card but the client cannot be contacted using the contact information provided by the client;”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The cardholder shall safeguard the card and keep the PIN confidential, other cardholder authentication codes, card information, and transaction information, and not disclose any card information; notify and cooperate with the card issuer for handling in cases of card loss or upon any request for trace, investigation and complaint.”

Article 10. Amending and supplementing Clause 4 Article 19

To replace the phrase “State Bank branch of the province or centrally-run city in the locality” with the phrase “regional State Bank branch”.

Article 11. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 Article 26

To replace the phrase “Banking Supervision Agency” with the phrase “Department of Credit Institution Management and Supervision”.

Article 12. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 Article 27

“5. On a periodic basis, no later than the 10 ^th day of each month, the card issuer shall, at the request of the State Bank of Vietnam, provide information on cards and cardholders suspected of involvement in fraud, scams, or legal violations, in accordance with Appendix No. 02 issued together with this Circular. Such information shall be provided by electronic means in accordance with the State Bank of Vietnam’s technical guidance on connectivity.

If any information in Appendix No. 02 changes, the card issuer shall promptly update and submit such information to the State Bank of Vietnam; bear full responsibility for the truthfulness and accuracy of the information and data provided to the State Bank of Vietnam.”.

Article 13. Amending and supplementing Article 30

“Article 30. Responsibilities for organization of implementation

1. The Payment Department shall monitor, inspect, and coordinate with relevant units to address any issues arising in the implementation of this Circular.

2. The State Bank of Vietnam Inspectorate, the Department of Credit Institution Management and Supervision, and the Regional Branches of the State Bank of Vietnam shall inspect and supervise the implementation of this Circular and handle violations within their respective competence.

3. Heads of relevant units under the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, payment intermediary service providers, and other relevant organizations and individuals shall implement this Circular./.”

Article 14. Amending and supplementing Appendix No. 02 issued together with Circular No. 18/2024/TT-NHNN

To replace Appendix No. 02 issued together with Circular No. 18/2024/TT-NHNN with Appendix No. 02 issued together with this Circular.

Article 15. Responsibilities for organization of implementation

Heads of units of the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, payment intermediary service providers, and other relevant organizations and individuals shall organize to implement this Circular.

Article 16. Implementation provision

This Circular takes effect from January 05, 2026./.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.