Fraud incidents dropped by 50% and 72% respectively after biometric authentication was mandated

Limit payment fraud

According to a representative of the Payment Department (State Bank), updating biometrics for bank accounts has almost no effect on the total number of daily transactions.

At the press conference announcing the Vietnam Card Day 2024 event on the morning of September 26, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department, State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), said that by mid-September 2024, about 38 million bank accounts will have their biometric data collected, including nearly 4 million e-wallets.

Most customers who make money transfers of over VND 10 million/transaction or total transactions of over VND 20 million/day have registered biometric information to check and re-authenticate the account owner's identity when making transactions, as required in Decision 2345 of the State Bank.

Mr. Tuan reaffirmed the goal of Decision 2345 is to ensure that the account must be owned by the owner when performing services related to the account, card, and wallet. Thereby, contributing to limiting the situation of fraudulent money transfers into accounts that are not owned by the owner that are rented, bought, or borrowed from others.

After two months of implementation, the average number of transactions is about 25 million transactions/day. Compared to the average number of transactions before July 1, 2024, the number of transactions is almost unchanged.

“Decision 2345 has brought about extremely positive results when the number of fraud cases after July 1st was only 700 cases, a 50% decrease; the number of accounts used for fraud was only 682 accounts, a 72% decrease compared to the average number of the first 7 months of the year,” Mr. Pham Anh Tuan shared.

38 million accounts have had their biometric data collected. Photo: Hoang Ha.

The above results show extremely positive impacts, in which Decision 2345 contributes significantly to limiting fraud in payments.

The Director of the Payment Department expressed hope that payment service providers and payment intermediaries will continue to collect biometric data and check biometric data stored in chip-embedded ID cards.

These are the contents stipulated in Circular 17 of the State Bank regulating the opening and use of payment accounts, Circular 18 regulating bank card activities, and Circular 40 regulating payment intermediary activities.

Accordingly, from January 1, 2025, individual customers whose biometric information has not been collected by credit institutions or payment intermediaries will only be able to transfer money directly at bank transaction counters.

“The above deadline is approaching, credit institutions and payment intermediaries are urgently promoting this,” Mr. Tuan noted.

Nearly 90% of adults have a bank account

Regarding the event "Vietnam Card Day", according to Director of the State Bank's Payment Department Pham Anh Tuan, credit institutions are tending to shift from the traditional banking model to the open banking model, enhancing connectivity and integrating technology in many fields, becoming a bridge for information exchange between banks and businesses.

To date, the country has over 84 organizations providing payment services implementing payments via the Internet and 50 organizations implementing payments via mobile phones. Payments and money transfers via the Internet, mobile phones, and QR Codes attract a large number of customers. By the end of 2023, the percentage of adults with bank accounts will reach 87.08%.

Mr. Pham Anh Tuan informed that next October, the State Bank will issue a circular to replace Circular 35 on security and safety in online transactions. This circular will replace Decision 2345 and has legal value, raising compliance to a higher level in the system of legal documents.

The Director of the Payment Department said that not all transactions require biometric authentication. However, the conditions for conducting transactions on electronic means also help payment service providers and payment intermediaries to re-check their data warehouses, ensuring that customers provided with services on the electronic environment must be guaranteed to be genuine.

At any time, customers can request the bank to check and register for biometric authentication. This ensures the rights of customers and helps limit fraud and scams in payments.

KHANH LINH (t/h)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/so-vu-lua-dao-giam-lan-luot-50-va-72-sau-khi-bat-buoc-xac-thuc-sinh-trac-hoc-20424092623004294.htm