Report transactions of $16,520 or more to central bank: PM decision

Transactions of VND400 million ($16,520) or more have to be reported to the central bank starting next month, according to a decision issued by the Prime Minister.

Starting December 1, 2023, financial institutions, organizations and individuals engaging in relevant non-financial industries as described in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 4 of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering 2022, will have to comply with Decision 11/2023/QD-TTg dated April 27, 2023.

The decision raises the minimum transaction value to be reported to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) from the current VND300 million.

It affects financial institutions licensed to perform one or several activities including: acceptance of deposits; lending; financial leasing; payment services; intermediary payment services; issuance of negotiable instruments, bank cards, money transfer orders; bank guarantees and financial commitments; provision of foreign exchange services and monetary tools in the currency market; securities brokerage; securities investment consulting, securities underwriting; securities investment fund management; securities investment portfolio management; life insurance business; and currency exchange.

Relevant non-financial businesses and professions carrying out one or several activities including prize-awarding games (including electronic games); telecommunications network-based games; Internet-based games; casinos, lottery and betting; real estate transactions except real estate leasing and subleasing activities and real estate consulting services; trading precious metals and gemstones; providing accounting services, notary services and legal services by lawyers and law-practicing organizations; services for establishing, managing and operating businesses; director and secretary services for third parties; and legal agreement services will also have to comply with the decision.

According to the latest data from the SBV, in the first nine months of 2023, the number of non-cash payment transactions increased by 49.32% compared to the same period last year.

Of these, transactions via the Internet rose by 60.30% in volume and 5.66% in value; those via mobile phones rose 60.82% and 9.71%, respectively; and those via bank cards rose 15.24% and 21.78%, respectively.

In particular, payments via QR codes soared 105.33% in volume and 10.66% in value.

By the end of September 2023, Vietnam had 85 payment service providers offering Internet-based services and 52 organizations providing payment services via mobile phones.

The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) alone processed an average of more than 20 million transactions per day, an increase of 52% and 12% respectively.