Cash transactions worth from $12,600 must be reported to central bank

A customer's cash transactions worth VND300 million ($12,600) or more in a day must be reported to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), according to a draft prime ministerial decision.

Collecting comments on the draft decision, the central bank believes that the daily transaction value of VND300 million suits the reality in Vietnam and meets the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The amended Law on Anti-Money Laundering, approved by the National Assembly on November 15, 2022, will take effect from March 1, 2023, replacing the 2012 version. Therefore, this decision needs to be promptly issued to match the law’s effective date, the SBV said.

The decision aims to detail the provisions of Clause 2, Article 25 of the amended law, and meet the requirements and international standards on money laundering prevention and control that Vietnam is obliged to implement.

According to the FATF, the recommended transaction value subject to report is $15,000, higher than the level specified in the draft decision (VND300 million or $12,600). However, a level of VND400 million is higher than the FATF's threshold, the central bank said..

Therefore, it proposes keeping the level specified in the prime minister's Decision No. 20/2013/QD-TTg issued by the PM in 2013 unchanged to suit the situation in Vietnam and meet the FATF's recommendations.