Circular 41/2024/TT-NHNN supervision of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the supervision and implementation of supervision of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities

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Pursuant to the June 16, 2010 Law on the State Bank of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the January 18, 2024 Law on Credit Institutions;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 102/2022/ND-CP of December 12, 2022 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 of May 15, 2024 on non-cash payment;

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

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates the Circular prescribing the supervision and implementation of supervision of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the supervision and implementation of supervision of important payment systems; supervision and implementation of supervision of the payment intermediary service provision activities by organizations licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam to operate and provide payment intermediary services (below referred to as payment intermediary service providers).

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Supervisory units.

2. Unit operating the National Interbank Electronic Payment System.

3. Organizations operating important payment systems.

4. Payment intermediary service providers.

5. Banks cooperating in providing payment intermediary services (below referred to as cooperating banks).

6. Organizations and individuals involved in the supervision of important payment systems and the supervision of payment intermediary service provision activities.

Article 3. Definitions of terms

In this Circular, the following terms are defined as follows:

1. Important payment systems include the National Interbank Electronic Payment System; foreign currency payment systems; securities transaction payment systems; financial transaction clearing and switching systems listed in the List of important payment systems in Appendix II attached to this Circular.

2. A supervisory unit is the unit within the organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam (below referred to as the State Bank), assigned the task of supervising important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities.

3. Unit operating the National Interbank Electronic Payment System is the unit directly taking the responsibility for the operation of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System.

4. Organization operating an important payment system (below referred to as the operating organization) is the entity directly taking the responsibility for operating the foreign currency payment system, securities transaction payment system, and the financial transaction clearing and switching system.

5. Supervision of important payment systems involves supervising the operations of important payment systems; inspecting and evaluating these important payment systems, and issuing warnings or recommendations (if necessary) to contribute to enhancing the stability and security of important payment systems within the economy.

6. Supervision of payment intermediary service provision activities involves supervising the activities of payment intermediary service provision; inspecting and evaluating the payment intermediary service provision activities, and issuing warnings or recommendations (if necessary).

Article 4. Measures of supervision

The supervisory unit shall conduct the supervision of important payment systems and the payment intermediary service provision activities by taking these following measures:

1. Supervising the activities of important payment systems and the payment intermediary service provision activities.

2. On-site inspections of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities.

3. Evaluating important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities.

4. Issuing warnings and recommendations within the supervision of important payment systems and payment intermediary service provision activities.

Chapter II

SUPERVISION OF IMPORTANT PAYMENT SYSTEMS

Article 5. Content of supervising important payment systems

1. The operational status of important payment systems, including information on operating times, the status of participating members, and transaction activities through the system.

2. Risk management activities related to the operation of important payment systems, including the development of policies, risk management procedures, and their implementation.

3. The compliance with law regulations related to the management and operation of important payment systems.

4. Changes in the operation of important payment systems, including changes in business processes and the system's membership regulations.

Article 6. Supervising the activities of important payment systems

The supervisory unit shall monitor the activities of important payment systems through the following methods:

1. Collecting documents, information, and operational data of important payment systems from the following sources:

a) Operational data of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System as specified in Appendix III attached to this Circular, collected and extracted from other relevant information systems of the State Bank;

b) Reports in accordance with the regulations of the Governor of the State Bank on statistical reporting;

c) Reports and information provided by the operating organization as prescribed in Article 16 of this Circular;

d) Documents, information, and data collected through on-site inspections as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular;

dd) Documents, information, and data collected through the online supervisory information system for the operations of important payment systems based on actual supervisory needs;

e) Feedback from members participating in important payment systems, customers using payment services, and information reported in the mass media;

g) Information related to important payment systems provided or reported by competent authorities;

h) Other information serving the supervision of important payment systems.

2. Processing and synthesizing documents, information, and data

a) Comparing and cross-checking the collected documents, information, and data with historical data to detect any unusual fluctuations;

b) Comparing and cross-checking the documents, information, and data collected from different sources;

c) Assessing and evaluating the rationality of the collected documents, information, and data; if documents, information, or data are found to be missing, erroneous, incorrect, or inappropriate, the supervisory unit shall request the operating organization or the unit operating the National Interbank Electronic Payment System to promptly report, explain, and resend accurate information;

d) Synthesizing and analyzing the collected documents, information, and data, and conducting comparisons and cross-checks.

Article 7. On-site inspections of important payment systems

1. The supervisory unit shall submit a request to the Governor of the State Bank to establish an inspection team to conduct on-site inspections at the workplace of the operating organization if the supervisory unit detects that the documents, information, or data provided by the operating organization are missing, erroneous, incorrect, or inappropriate and have not yet been rectified, or discovers issues related to risks that require the collection of additional documents, information, or data.

2. The Governor of the State Bank shall issue a decision of inspection. The decision of inspection shall include these following details: the name of the operating organization, content, time, and location of the inspection; the composition of the inspection team; documents, information, and data required for the operating organization to report and provide for the inspection team (if necessary) and submit to the operating organization no later than 5 working days before the scheduled inspection date.

3. The operating organization shall fully prepare the necessary content for the inspection; report, provide documents, information, data, and grant access to the information technology system to facilitate the inspection; and explain or clarify issues related to the inspection content upon request.

4. The inspection team shall conduct the inspection, draft a working minutes on the inspection results, and have it signed by both a representative of the inspection team and an authorized representative of the operating organization, including these following details: the name of the operating organization, content and results of the inspection; proposed and recommended measures to handle inspection results (if any); a deadline for rectification and reporting on the implementation of recommendations (if any). The working minutes shall be made in two copies, of which one is retained by the operating organization to implement the inspection team's recommendations.

5. The operating organization shall promptly and fully implement recommendations of the inspection team and report on the implementation of these recommendations within the required timeframe.

6. The inspection team shall report the inspection results to the Governor of the State Bank within 30 working days from the date of completion of the inspection.

7. The supervisory unit shall monitor and urge the implementation of the operating organization’s recommendations.

Article 8. Evaluation of important payment systems

1. Pursuant to the documents, information, and data collected as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular, the supervisory unit shall prepare a supervision report submitted to the Governor of the State Bank:

a) A report for the first six month of the year and annual report, for important payment systems;

b) An ad-hoc report on any risks or incidents arising within important payment systems.

2. The supervisory unit shall evaluate the National Interbank Electronic Payment System according to Form No. 04 in Appendix I attached to this Circular every three years, and submit the evaluation results to the Governor of the State Bank.

Article 9. Warnings and recommendations in the supervision of important payment systems

1. If the supervisory unit detects potential risks that could affect the stability and security of important payment systems or lead to the operating organization’s non-compliance with law regulations on important payment systems, the supervisory unit shall report and propose to the Governor of the State Bank to issue a written warning or recommendation to the operating organization.

2. The operating organization shall promptly and fully implement the recommendations of the supervisory unit and report on the implementation of recommendations within the required timeframe.

Chapter III

THE SUPERVISION OF PAYMENT INTERMEDIARY SERVICE PROVISION ACTIVITIES

Article 10. Content of supervising payment intermediary service provision activities

1. The compliance with law regulations on payment intermediary service provision activities.

2. Risk management activities in the provision of payment intermediary services, including the development of risk management processes, policies, and the implementation.

Article 11. Supervising the provision of payment intermediary services

The supervisory unit shall monitor the provision of payment intermediary services through these following methods:

1. Collecting documents, information, and data related to the provision of payment intermediary services from:

a) Reports according to the Governor of the State Bank’s regulations on statistical reporting;

b) Reports and information provided by payment intermediary service providers as prescribed in Article 17 of this Circular;

c) Reports and information provided by cooperating banks as prescribed in Article 18 of this Circular;

d) Documents, information, and data collected through inspection and examination activities as prescribed by law regulations.

dd) Documents, information, and data collected through the online supervisory information system established by the State Bank (below referred to as the online supervisory information system) as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 20 of this Circular;

e) Feedback from customers using payment intermediary services and information reported in the mass media;

g) Information related to payment intermediary service provision activities provided or reported by competent authorities;

h) Other information serving the supervision of payment intermediary service provision activities that the supervisory unit requested payment intermediary service providers and cooperating banks to provide.

2. Processing and synthesizing documents, information, and data

a) Comparing and cross-checking the collected documents, information, and data with historical data to detect any unusual fluctuations;

b) Comparing and cross-checking the documents, information, and data collected from different sources;

c) Assessing and evaluating the rationality of the collected documents, information, and data; if any documents, information, or data are found to be missing, erroneous, incorrect, or inappropriate, the supervisory unit shall request the payment intermediary service provider to promptly report, explain, and resend accurate information;

d) Synthesizing and analyzing the collected documents, information, and data, and conducting comparisons and cross-checks.

Article 12. On-site inspections of payment intermediary service provision activities

1. The supervisory unit shall conduct on-site inspections at the headquarters of the payment intermediary service providers in accordance with the annual inspection plan of the State Bank; conduct ad-hoc inspections based on management requirements and actual circumstances, or upon the request, recommendation, or feedback of competent authorities, organizations, individuals, or as directed by the Governor of the State Bank.

2. The procedures for conducting inspections, handling inspection results, and making post-inspection recommendations shall be carried out in accordance with the Governor of the State Bank’s regulations on the inspection of compliance with policies and laws on monetary and banking.

3. The payment intermediary service provider shall fully prepare the necessary content for the inspection; report, provide documents, information, data, and grant access to the information technology system to facilitate the inspection; explain and clarify issues related to the inspection content upon request, and fulfill other responsibilities in accordance with the Governor of the State Bank’s regulations on the inspection of compliance with policies and laws on monetary and banking.

Article 13. Evaluation of payment intermediary service provision activities

Pursuant to the collected documents, information, and data in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of this Circular, the supervisory unit shall evaluate payment intermediary service provision activities and prepare a supervising report submitted to the Governor of the State Bank:

1. A semi-annual report and an annual report on payment intermediary service provision activities.

2. An ad-hoc report on any risks or incidents arising related to payment intermediary service provision activities.

Article 14. Warnings and recommendations in the supervision of payment intermediary service provision activities

1. If the supervisory unit detects risks that could potentially affect the security of payment intermediary service provision activities or lead to non-compliance with law regulations on the payment intermediary service provision activities, the supervisory unit shall report and propose to the Governor of the State Bank to issue a written warning or recommendation to the payment intermediary service providers or cooperating banks.

2. The payment intermediary service providers shall promptly and fully implement the supervisory unit’s recommendations and report on the implementation of these recommendations within the required timeframe.

Chapter IV

REPORTING AND INFORMATION PROVISION

Article 15. Reporting methods, frequency, and deadlines

1. Reporting methods:

Electronic reports are presented as electronic data files or electronic messages transmitted via computer networks or sent through data storage devices, bearing the electronic signature of the legal representative of the reporting organization, in accordance with the transmission codes, symbols, and file structures prescribed by the State Bank. Reports shall be sent to the State Bank through one of the following methods:

a) Submission through the State Bank’s reporting information system (below referred to as the reporting information system);

b) Submission through the online supervisory information system;

c) Other electronic methods as guided by the State Bank.

2. Reporting frequency and deadlines

a) Daily report: The reporting period is from 0:00 to 24:00 of a single day. The deadline for submitting the report is no later than 14:00 on the next working day following the reporting period.

b) Monthly report: The reporting period covers the first day to the last one of the month. The deadline for submitting the report is no later than the 12^th of the month following the reporting period;

c) Quarterly report: The reporting period covers the first day of the first month of the quarter to the last day of the last month of the quarter. The deadline for submitting the report is no later than the 15^th of the first month of the quarter following the reporting period;

d) Report for the first 6 months of the year: The reporting period covers from January 1^st to June 30^th. The deadline for submitting the report is no later than the 20^th of the month following the reporting period;

dd) Annual report: The reporting period covers from January 1^st to December 31^st. The deadline for submitting the report is no later than the 20^th of the first month of the year following the reporting period;

e) If the final day of the reporting deadline falls on a public holiday, Tet holiday, or weekend, the report shall be submitted on the next working day immediately following that public holiday, Tet holiday, or weekend.

Article 16. Reporting and providing information by the operating organization

1. The operating organization shall report to the State Bank of Vietnam regarding the payment system it operates as follows:

a) Report on the operational data of important payment systems according to Appendix IV issued with this Circular through the reporting information system;

b) Submit reports for the first 6 months of the year and annual reports on the operational status of important payment systems according to Form No. 01 of Appendix I issued with this Circular through the reporting information system;

c) Submit reports on evaluation of the important payment system according to Form No. 04 of Appendix I issued with this Circular. These reports shall be made every three years according to the State Bank’s guidance on the methods of implementation, applicable standards, the procedures and deadlines for submitting the report.

2. The operating organization shall provide information for the supervisory unit immediately upon detecting an incident causing an interruption of more than 30 minutes in the operation of important payment systems, including information about the time of incident detection and a preliminary description of the incident, sent via email to [email protected] to capture and keep track the incident resolution. Within 3 working days from the date the incident is fully resolved, the operating organization shall submit an incident report according to Form No. 03 in Appendix I issued with this Circular through the reporting information system.

3. The operating organization shall provide information and related documents concerning changes in operational procedures; policies and process of risk management; and the membership regulations of the payment system via email to [email protected] within 15 working days from the date of the change.

Article 17. Reporting and providing information by payment intermediary service providers

1. Payment intermediary service providers shall report on the operation of their payment intermediary services on a quarterly (reports for the first, second, and third quarter) and annually basis, according to Form No. 02 in Appendix I and Appendix VI issued with this Circular through the reporting information system.

2. Payment intermediary service providers shall provide information for the supervisory unit immediately upon detecting an incident causing an interruption of more than 30 minutes in the operation of payment intermediary services including information about the time of incident detection and a preliminary description of the incident, sent via email to [email protected] for capturing and tracking the incident resolution. Within 3 working days from the date the incident is fully resolved, the payment intermediary service provider shall submit an incident report according to Form No. 03 in Appendix I issued with this Circular through the reporting information system.

3. The e-wallet service providers shall provide the supervisory unit with a copy of the contract or agreement with the cooperating bank on the provision of e-wallet services and any amended or supplementary contracts or agreements (if any), within 3 working days from the date the contract or agreement between the e-wallet service provider and the cooperating bank comes into effect.

4. Payment intermediary service providers shall develop an online supervisory tool for the State Bank to supervise the operation of payment intermediary services. The online supervisory tool, developed by the payment intermediary service providers, must be connected to the online supervisory information system to report the following information:

a) The total number and total balance of e-wallets categorized by type of wallet (issued wallets; closed wallets; activated wallets, and active wallets), by type of customers (institutional clients that are not merchants; individual clients that are not merchants; merchants that are individuals; and merchants that are organizations) according to the guidelines of the State Bank;

b) Information on the balance of the payment guarantee account for the e-wallet service, including the total balance of the payment guarantee account for the e-wallet service; and information of each payment guarantee account for the e-wallet service opened at cooperating banks, including the account name, account number, and balance, according to the guidelines of the State Bank.

5. Payment intermediary service providers shall provide the information specified at Point h, Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular.

Article 18. Reporting and information provision by cooperating banks

Cooperating banks shall report and provide information for the State Bank as follows:

1. Reporting on the cooperation with payment intermediary service providers according to Appendix V issued with this Circular. This report is to be conducted in accordance with the Governor of the State Bank’s regulations on the statistical reporting.

2. Reporting on the payment guarantee accounts for e-wallet services of payment intermediary service providers opened at the cooperating bank, including the account number, account balance, and the payment intermediary service provider opening and using the account at the time of inquiry through the online supervisory information system.

3. Providing the information specified at Point h, Clause 1, Article 11 of this Circular.

Chapter V

RESPONSIBILITIES OF INVOLVED PARTIES

Article 19. Responsibilities of the Department of Payment

1. Carry out the duties of the supervisory unit as prescribed in this Circular.

2. Coordinate with the Department of Information Technology to develop a reporting information system for receiving, compiling, extracting, and storing data, statistics, and information reports as prescribed in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Circular.

3. Coordinate with the Department of Information Technology to develop an online supervisory information system for the operation of important payment systems and the provision of payment intermediary services as required by actual supervisory needs.

4. Provide information for the Banking Supervision Agency, the State Bank branches in provinces and centrally-run cities, and competent authorities when signs of violations of law regulations on important payment systems or the provision of payment intermediary services are detected.

5. Recommend inspections of payment intermediary service providers when signs of violations of law regulations on the provision of payment intermediary services are detected (if necessary).

Article 20. Responsibilities of the Department of Information Technology

1. Fulfill the responsibilities of the operating unit for the National Interbank Electronic Payment System.

2. Serve as the focal point for developing and maintaining the online supervisory information system to allow the supervisory unit to remotely access the National Interbank Electronic Payment System in order to enable real-time supervision of the system’s operations with the principle of ensuring safety, information security, without disruption or impact on the processing speed of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System, including:

a) Allowing access to a complete list and basic information of the members participating in the National Interbank Electronic Payment System;

b) Allowing the supervision of the operational status and transactions of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System;

c) Allowing access to warning information regarding unusual activities of the National Interbank Electronic Payment System;

d) Allowing access to information on the liquidity status of each participating member, including details on the balance of payment account, net debt limits, overdraft limits of the participating members, and members showing signs of liquidity difficulties (such as transactions pending due to insufficient funds, inability to settle in low-value clearing, processing net settlement results from other systems, or transactions canceled at the end of the day due to insufficient funds), and members incurring clearing payment loans.

3. Serve as the focal point and coordinate with the supervisory unit, payment intermediary service providers, and cooperating banks to develop, maintain, and provide technical guidance on connecting the online supervisory information system for payment intermediary service provision activities, including:

a) Allowing connection to the online supervisory tools developed by payment intermediary service providers for inquiring the information as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 17 of this Circular;

b) Allowing inquiries on information of payment guarantee accounts for e-wallet services of payment intermediary service providers opened at cooperating banks, as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 18 of this Circular.

4. Serve as the focal point and coordinate with the supervisory unit to develop, maintain, and provide technical guidance on connecting the online supervisory information system for the operation of the foreign currency payment system, the securities transaction payment system, and the financial transaction clearing and switching system as required by actual supervisory needs.

5. Serve as the focal point and coordinate with the supervisory unit to develop and maintain the operation of the reporting information system and the online supervisory information system for receiving, compiling, extracting, and storing data, statistics, and information reports as prescribed in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Circular.  

6. Notify the supervisory unit of the results in cases that an inspection related to the operation of important payment systems by the operating organization, the provision of payment intermediary services by payment intermediary service providers has been conducted.

7. Coordinate with the supervisory unit to conduct on-site inspections of operating organizations and payment intermediary service providers.  

8. Coordinate with the supervisory unit and relevant units of the State Bank to develop an evaluation report on the National Interbank Electronic Payment System as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 21. Responsibilities of the Banking Supervision Agency

1. Provide the supervisory unit with a list of credit institutions and foreign bank branches that are members of important payment systems and are subject to early intervention or special control.

2. Review and take action within its authority upon receiving information or recommendations from the supervisory unit as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 19, and Clause 5, Article 19 of this Circular.

3. Provide the supervisory unit with inspection conclusions of payment intermediary service providers that have been inspected by the Banking Supervision Agency.

Article 22. Responsibilities of State Bank branches in provinces and centrally-run cities

1. Review and take action within their authority upon receiving information or recommendations from the supervisory unit as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 19, and Clause 5, Article 19 of this Circular.

2. Provide the supervisory unit with inspection conclusions of payment intermediary service providers that have been inspected by the State Bank branches in provinces and centrally-run cities.

Article 23. Responsibilities of the operating organization

1. Fulfill the responsibilities of the operating organization as prescribed in this Circular.

2. Coordinate with the State Bank to develop an online supervisory information system based on the actual supervisory requirements of the State Bank.

Article 24. Responsibilities of payment intermediary service providers

1. Fulfill the responsibilities of payment intermediary service providers as prescribed in this Circular.

2. Develop an online supervisory tool for the supervisory unit to supervise the payment intermediary service provision activities as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 17 of this Circular, and establish a connection between the online supervisory tool and the online supervisory information system according to the guidelines of the State Bank.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 25. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect from July 17, 2024, except for the provision in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Provisions of Clause 4, Article 17 of this Circular take effect from October 1, 2024.

3. The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 20/2018/TT-NHNN of August 30, 2018 prescribing oversight and supervision of payment systems, amended and supplemented under the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 14/2019/TT-NHNN of August 30, 2019 on amending and supplementing a number of articles in the circulars providing regulations on the periodical reporting regime of the State Bank shall cease to be effective from the effective date of this Circular.

Article 26. Organization of implementation

The Chief of the Office, the Director General of the Department of Payment, heads of the relevant units under the State Bank of Vietnam, the organizations operating important payment systems, payment intermediary service providers, and cooperating banks shall organize the implementation of this Circular./.