Transferring 10 million VND may require biometric authentication

At a seminar on protecting bank accounts from increasing online fraud risks held in HCM City on September 19. (Photo: VGP)

It is expected that biometric authentication such as fingerprint, iris, or facial recognition will be mandatory for money transfers exceeding the minimum level, possibly starting from 10 million VND (410.93 USD), said Deputy Head of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Payment Department Le Anh Dung at a September 19 seminar on protecting bank accounts from increasing online fraud risks.

In the near future, Dung also revealed that the SBV will amend Decision 630 to allow credit institutions to implement biometric authentication for transactions surpassing certain limits.

Currently, 90% of online transfer transactions are below 10 million VND. The figure could serve as a basis for reference to set the minimum transfer amount requiring biometric authentication, ensuring a balance between customer experience and fraud prevention.

Illustrative photo (Source: tienphong.vn)

Nguyen Tran Nam, Managing Director at the Asia Commercial Bank (ACB)’s Digital Bank Division, said fraudulent money transfer transactions usually do not occur on customers’ own devices. One of the latest tricks is to persuade them to install apps that allow hackers to interfere with the operating system, monitor their behaviour on their mobile phones, and remotely control the phones to steal money from the accounts. Nam held that biometric authentication is a crucial factor in minimising such type of fraud.

Vietnam is a country with a high rate of online fraud, with 87,000 cases recorded so far, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA). In 2021 alone, the victims suffered losses of 374 million USD, equivalent to 4,200 USD per case./.