AMENDMENTS TO CIRCULAR NO. 23/2014/TT-NHNN DATED AUGUST 19, 2014 OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE BANK OF VIETNAM PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR OPENING AND USE OF CHECKING ACCOUNTS AT PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS

1. Clause 5 Article 3 is amended as follows:

“5. Interests on checking account balances shall be calculated according to the rate of interests on demand deposits. Interest rates will be determined and openly posted by payment service providers in accordance with regulations of law.".

2. Article 12 is amended as follows:

1. With regard to a personal checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 1 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) The applicant’s identity papers, including the citizen identity card or ID card or unexpired passport or birth certificate (if the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen aged under 14 years), or unexpired entry visa or certificate of visa exemption (if the applicant is a foreigner), except a checking account opened by a foreigner as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 14 of this Circular;

c) If a checking account is opened by a person’s guardian or legal representative (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant’s legal representative”), in addition to the documents specified in Point a, b Clause 1 of this Article, the application for checking account opening must also include the following documents:

- If the applicant’s legal representative is an individual: his/her identity papers and documents proving his/her capacity as a legal representative of the applicant for the checking account;

- If the applicant’s legal representative is a juridical person: its establishment decision, operation license, enterprise registration certificate or other documents as prescribed by law; documents proving its capacity as a legal representative of the applicant for the checking account; identity papers and documents proving the representative capacity of its legal representative.

2. With regard to a corporate checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 2 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) Documents proving that the organization opening the checking account is duly established and legally operating, including:  establishment decision, operation license, enterprise registration certificate or other documents as prescribed by law;

c) Documents proving the capacity of legal representatives of the organization and their identity papers;

d) Decision on appointment of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works or accounting service contract (if outsourced accounting is used) and identity papers of chief accountant or person in charge of accounting works.

3. With regard to a shared checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to stipulate and instruct the client to prepare an application for checking account opening which must, inter alia, include the following documents:

a) The application form for checking account opening which is made using the form provided by the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account is opened and complies with Clause 3 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) Documents about the holders of the shared checking account:

- If the holder of the shared checking account is an individual, the application for checking account opening shall include the documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

- If the holder of the shared checking account is an organization, the application for checking account opening shall include the documents specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

c) If the agreement or contract (hereinafter referred to as “agreement”) on opening and use of checking account does not include contents about the management and use of the shared checking account by its holders, a separate agreement on the management and use of the shared checking account between the holders of that shared checking account is required.

4. Documents included in the application for checking account opening specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article are originals or electronic copies or certified true copies or copies issued from their master registers or copies presented with their originals for verification purpose as prescribed by law. If a copy is presented with its original for verification purpose, the bank or foreign bank branch shall make a certification on the received copy and assume responsibility for the accuracy of the received copy compared to its original. Documents issued by foreign competent authorities must bear consular legalization in accordance with regulations of law. If documents included in an application for checking account opening are electronic copies, the bank or foreign bank branch must adopt solutions/technologies for collecting, checking and verifying information to ensure that contents of such electronic copies are adequate, accurate and corresponding with the originals.

5. The bank or foreign bank branch must enter into an agreement with its client on whether or not foreign language documents included in the application for checking account opening are translated into Vietnamese according to the following rules:

a) The bank or foreign bank branch must check, control and ensure the accuracy and adequacy of Vietnamese translations compared to their original foreign language documents;

b) Foreign language documents must be translated at the request of competent authorities. Translations must bear certification of a competent official of the bank, or foreign bank branch, or must be notarized or certified”.

3. Article 13 is amended as follows:

1. The application form for opening of a personal checking account shall be prescribed by the bank or foreign bank branch but must include the following information:

a) If the account holder is a Vietnamese:  full name, date of birth, nationality; occupation, position; telephone number; number of citizen identity card or ID card or unexpired passport, date of issue, issuing authority; registered permanent residence and current residence; being a resident or non-resident; TIN (if any);

b) If the account holder is a foreigner:  full name, date of birth, nationality; occupation, position; telephone number; number of unexpired passport, date of issue, issuing authority, entry visa (if any); registered permanent residence in a foreign country and registered residence in Vietnam; being a resident or non-resident; TIN (if any);

c) If a client applies for opening of a checking account through his/her legal representative, in addition to information about the account holder specified in Point a, b of this Clause, the application form for opening of a personal checking account must also include information about that legal representative, including:

- If the client’s legal representative is an individual, the information about the legal representative shall be specified according to Point a, b of this Clause;

- If the client’s legal representative is an organization, full and abbreviated business name, headquarters address, transaction address, telephone number, fax number (if any), main business lines and legal representative of that organization shall be specified.

2. The application form for opening of a corporate checking account shall be prescribed by the bank or foreign bank branch but must include the following information:

a) Full and abbreviated business name, headquarters address, transaction address, telephone number, business lines and TIN (if any);

b) Information about the legal representative of the organization applying for checking account opening as prescribed in Point a, b Clause 1 of this Article;

c) Information about the chief accountant or the person in charge of accounting works (if any) of the organization applying for checking account opening as prescribed in Point a, b Clause 1 of this Article;

3. The application form for opening of a shared checking account shall be prescribed by the bank or foreign bank branch but must include the following information:

a) If the holder of the shared checking account is an individual, his/her information shall be provided according to Clause 1 of this Article;

b) If the holder of the shared checking account is an organization, its information shall be provided according to Clause 2 of this Article.”.

4. Article 13a is added as follows:

1. An agreement on opening and use of the checking account between the bank or foreign bank branch and the client must, inter alia, include the following contents:

a) Number (if any), date of the agreement;

b) Name of the bank or foreign bank branch;

c) Name of the account holder, full name of legal representative of the account holder (if the account holder is an organization), full name of the legal representative of the account holder (if the account holder is one of the entities specified in Point c and Point d Clause 1 Article 11 of this Circular);

d) Rights and obligations of the parties;

dd) Regulations on fees (types of fees, fee amounts (if any) and changes thereof);

e) Provision of information and methods for informing the account holder of account balance and transactions made via the checking account, account blockage or freeze, and other necessary information during the use of such checking account;

g) Cases in which an account is blocked/released and frozen/unfrozen, including the case where an account is blocked or frozen upon detection of mistakes or differences between a client’s identity information and his/her biometric factors during the online opening and use of the checking account prescribed in Point c Clause 2 Article 14a of this Circular;

h) Scope of use and limits on transactions made on the checking account and cases where the account holder’s payment order is refused or suspended;

i) Use of the checking account to make regular or periodical payments at the request of the account holder or the bank or foreign bank branch’s collection of due debts, overdue debts, interests and relevant fees arisen during the management of the checking account and provision of payment services;

k) The implementation of measures for ensuring safety and confidentiality during the use of the checking account;

l) Methods for receiving trace requests or complaints; time limit for dealing with a trace request or complaint and actions against results thereof as prescribed in Article 15a of this Circular;

m) Cases where the checking account is closed and settlement of remaining balance after the account closure;

n) Where the holders of a shared checking account do not yet enter into a document as prescribed in Point c Clause 3 Article 12 of this Article, the agreement on opening and use of checking account must include contents about the management and use of the shared checking account by its holders.

2. In case a standard form contract or contract containing general terms and conditions is employed when concluding an agreement on opening and use of the checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch must:

a) Openly post the standard form contract or contract containing general terms and conditions on the opening and use of the checking account at the lawful transaction locations of the bank or foreign bank branch and publish it on its website or online transaction application software on the Internet or mobiles (if any);

b) Provide adequate information about the standard form contract or contract containing general terms and conditions for the client before opening the checking account for the client and obtain the client’s certification of receipt of adequate information from the bank or foreign bank branch.”.

5. Article 14 is amended as follows:

1. When wishing to open a checking account, the client shall prepare an application as prescribed in Article 12 of this Circular and send it directly or by post or another electronic mean to the bank or foreign bank branch where the checking account will be opened.

2. When receiving the application for checking account opening from the client, the bank or foreign bank branch shall check and examine the documents included in the received application and take the following actions:

a) If the documents included in the application is adequate, lawful and valid, and information provided in the application form for checking account opening exactly corresponds with that on the documents included in the application, the bank or foreign bank branch shall open the checking account for the client according to Clause 3 of this Article;

b) If the documents included in the application is inadequate, unlawful or invalid, or the information provided in the application form for checking account opening does not correspond with that on the documents included in the application, the bank or foreign bank branch shall notify it to the client for completing the application;

c) If the bank or foreign bank branch refuses to open a checking account, reasons for such refusal must be given to the client.

3. Upon completion of check, examination and verification of client’s identity information as prescribed in the Law on anti-money laundering, the bank or foreign bank branch shall enter into an agreement on opening and use of the checking account with the client as follows:

a) With regard to a personal checking account: the bank or foreign bank branch shall meet in person with the client or his/her legal representative (if a checking account is opened by the client’s legal representative) for entering into the agreement on opening and use of the checking account, except the cases prescribed in Clause 4, 6 of this Article and Article 14a of this Circular;

b) With regard to a corporate checking account: the bank or foreign bank branch may decide whether to meet in person with the client’s legal representative or not when entering into the agreement on opening and use of the checking account. If the bank or foreign bank branch decides not to meet in person with the client’s legal representative, it must adopt appropriate measures for verifying the accuracy of signature, seal (if any), digital certificate (if any) of the legal representative of the account holder on the agreement on opening and use of the checking account, and ensuring the matching  of that signature, seal (if any) and digital certificate (if any) with that of the legal representative of the account holder during the use of the checking account.

c) With regard to a shared checking account:

- If the holders of the shared checking account are individuals, the bank or foreign bank branch shall enter into an agreement on opening and use of checking account according to the provisions in Point a of this Clause;

- If the holders of the shared checking account are organizations, the bank or foreign bank branch shall enter into an agreement on opening and use of checking account according to the provisions in Point b of this Clause;

4. If a client is living abroad, the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to open the checking account without meeting in person with the client but must verify the client's identity via a bank agent or an intermediary and must ensure the accuracy of verified information as well as assume responsibility for its verification and identification of that client. The intermediary that is employed to verify the client's identity shall be selected in accordance with regulations of the Law on anti-money laundering.

5. Procedures for opening a personal checking account online shall comply with Article 14a of this Circular.

6. The bank or foreign bank branch shall decide the opening of a checking account for a client that has established a relationship with the bank or foreign bank branch and whose identity information has been verified but must ensure the availability of or must collect adequate information/documents as required in the application for checking account opening as prescribed in Article 12 of this Circular.

7. After having entered into the agreement on opening and use of the checking account with the client, the bank or foreign bank branch shall notify the number, name and effective date of the checking account. The bank or foreign bank branch must collect specimen signatures and digital certificates (if any) of the account holder or his/her/its legal representative and relevant persons (if any), and specimen seal (if the account holder is an organization) for checking and verification during the use of the checking account.

8. Based on its conditions and capacity to supply payment services, the bank or foreign bank branch shall give instructions to its clients about procedures for checking account opening, in which cases of refusal to open a checking account must be specified, in accordance with  regulations of this Circular and the Law on anti-money laundering, and assume responsibility for the accuracy and adequacy of the application for checking account opening.”.

6. Article 14a is added as follows:

1. The bank or foreign bank branch that performs online opening of checking account must formulate, promulgate and publish its procedures for online opening of checking account in conformity with regulations of this Article, the Law on anti-money laundering, the Law on e-transactions, and relevant regulations on assurance of safety and confidentality of clients' information, and security in operations of banks/foreign bank branches, which include the following steps:

a) Collect information concerning the application for checking account opening as prescribed in Clause 1, 4, 5 Article 12, Clause 1 Article 13 of this Circular;

b) Check, examine and verify the client’s identity information;

c) Warn clients about acts which they are prohibited to perform during the online opening and use of checking account;

d) Provide clients with contents of the agreement on opening and use of checking account as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 13a of this Circular and enter into the agreement on opening and use of checking account with the client;

d) Notify the client of number and name of the checking account, limit on transactions made via the checking account, and effective date of the checking account.

2. The bank or foreign bank branch shall decide methods, forms and technologies adopted to identify and verify a client, which serve its online opening of checking account; assume responsibility for any risks and meet the following requirements:

a) It must adopt solutions/technologies for collecting, checking and verifying to ensure the matching between a client’s identity and biometric data (including biological factor/characteristics that are specifically used to identify a person, cannot be forged, and are rarely matched with those of another person such as fingerprints, face, iris, voice and other biometric factors) and corresponding information and biometric data on the client’s identity papers prescribed in Clause 1 Article 12 of this Circular or personal identity data certified by competent authorities or other credit institutions or electronic certification and identification service providers;

b) It must adopt technical methods for certifying the identified client’s consent to contents of the agreement on opening and use of the checking account;

c) It must formulate procedures for risk management, control and assessment, that include measures for preventing acts of impersonating, intervening, correcting or falsifying the verification of a client’s identity before, during and after the checking account opening, and measures for checking and verifying a client’s identity to make sure that transactions made via a checking account opened online are made by the holder of that checking account. Where any risks or differences between identity and biometric factors of a client or any suspicious transactions, as prescribed in the Law on anti-money laundering, are detected during the use of a checking account, the bank or foreign bank branch must promptly refuse or suspend transactions, block or freeze that checking account, and re-verify the client’s identity. Procedures for risk management and control must be regularly reviewed and adjusted based on information/data updated during the provision of services;

d) It must adequately store and manage information/data used for identifying clients during their opening and use of checking accounts in chronological order, including: client’s identity and biometric factors, sounds, images, videos and recordings, telephone number used when making transaction, and transaction log. Information/data must be stored safely, kept confidential, backed up and have its adequacy and integrity ensured to serve the inspection, examination and solving of trace requests, complaints and disputes, and provide information at the request of competent authorities. Storage period shall comply with the Law on anti-money laundering.

3. Based on its technological conditions, the bank or foreign bank branch shall evaluate risks, determinate scope of use and decide the limit on transactions made on the client’s checking account opened online provided that total value of transactions (debit) on checking accounts of that client does not exceed VND 100 million/month/client.

4. The bank or foreign bank branch may decide a limit on transactions made on the checking account opened online higher than the one specified in Clause 3 of this Article in one of the following cases:

a) The bank or foreign bank branch collects, checks and verifies the client’s identity during the opening of the checking account through video call which has the same effectiveness as identification and verification of a client’s identity by meeting the client in person. Video call must ensure safety and confidentiality, have high resolution and uninterrupted signal, allow real-time audio-visual contact with the client to ensure the identification of client, and store all sound and image data or recordings/videos during the opening of the checking account;

b) The bank or foreign bank branch adopts technologies for checking/comparing the client’s biometric characteristics with the citizen’s biometric data on the citizen identity card database;

c) After the bank or foreign bank branch has identified and verified the client’s identity by meeting in person with the account holder;

d) Transactions are made online to transfer money to a saving or term deposit account of the same account holder opened at that bank or foreign bank branch;

dd) Cases where the bank or foreign bank branch is allowed to draw on the client’s checking account according to Point a Clause 1 Article 6 of this Circular.

5. The procedures for online opening of a checking account prescribed in this Article shall not apply to shared checking accounts, checking accounts of foreigners and the entities specified in Point b, c, d Clause 1 Article 11 of this Circular.”.

The Chief of Office, heads of units affiliated to the State Bank of Vietnam, banks and foreign bank branches shall organize the implementation of this Circular.

1. This Circular comes into force from March 05, 2021.

2. This Circular nullifies Clause 7, 8, 9 Article 1 of the Circular No. 02/2019/TT-NHNN dated February 28, 2019 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam providing amendments to the Circular No. 23/2014/TT-NHNN dated August 19, 2014 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam providing guidelines for opening and use of checking accounts at payment service providers./.