Vietnam’s Biometric Banking Revolution for Enterprises

Vietnam’s banking sector is at a point as biometric authentication evolves from being only a regulatory requirement to becoming a strategic lever for growth. With corporate compliance deadlines approaching and foreign institutions facing enforcement actions, enterprise leaders must align their roadmaps with Vietnam’s digital security goals. This blog is a detailed analysis of the mandate’s implications and opportunities where we will cover the following questions:

1. What regulations have been recently passed regarding biometrics?

2. How are these regulations impacting banks and corporate clients?

3. What are the risks and opportunities of biometric adoption in Vietnam’s banking sector?

The State Bank of Vietnam’s Decision No. 2345/QSS-NHNN, enacted in July 2024, introduced stringent biometric verification protocols to combat the country’s €345 million annual digital fraud losses. The regulation initially targeted high-risk transactions, including first-time mobile banking activities and transfers exceeding VND 10 million (~€375).

The scope of the initial regulations has been expanded by the government in 2025: corporate accounts now fall under the mandate, requiring legal representatives to authenticate biometric data by July 1, 2025, for withdrawals and electronic payments. Non-compliant institutions risk service suspensions. This is already impacting foreign banks like HSBC and UOB, which faced State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) warnings for missing the January 2025 deadline.

Early adoption data reveals promising results: over 38 million accounts enrolled in biometric systems by mid-2024, correlate with a measurable decline in fraudulent transactions. Vietcombank, a compliance leader, reported 63% fewer suspicious activities after integrating real-time fraud alerts with its biometric platform.

Even though these numbers look very promising there are still challenges. Elderly customers, often unfamiliar with biometric technology, overwhelmed customer service desks in late 2024, forcing banks to extend operating hours. Meanwhile, corporate clients now navigate dual deadlines, balancing internal governance updates with State Bank of Vietnam’s phased enforcement.

Vietnam’s National Population Database, which stores iris scans, voice samples, and facial recognition data, is the backbone of new compliance regulations. Financial institutions now must ensure their systems authenticate against this centralized registry, particularly for high-value corporate transactions. This effort also already showed some advantages in cyber security: Techcombank reduced verification errors by 41% by aligning its APIs with the database’s QR code ID system.

Foreign banks’ struggles highlight the consequences of underestimating implementation complexity. Institutions like HSBC initially relied on legacy systems, resulting in incomplete biometric coverage and temporary service halts. For corporate clients, delays could disrupt payroll, vendor payments, and cross-border transactions, a critical concern for multinationals operating in Vietnam’s $450 billion economy.

Vietnam’s biometric mandate isn’t just about compliance, it’s also driving digital progress. Banks that adopt early are seeing a 22% boost in customer trust and smoother operations with automated KYC processes. As Southeast Asia’s digital economy grows to $billion by 20, businesses with strong biometric systems will be better positioned for cross-border opportunities and stronger cybersecurity.

One part of this cyber efforts are the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam to which we answered the following questions

• What regulations have been recently passed regarding biometrics? Vietnam’s State Bank introduced Decision No. 2345/QSS-NHNN in July 2024, mandating biometric verification for high-risk transactions, with expanded requirements for corporate accounts by July 2025.

• How are these regulations impacting banks and corporate clients? Banks are rapidly implementing biometric authentication to meet compliance deadlines, with early adopters like Vietcombank reporting reduced fraud, while corporate clients face dual compliance challenges balancing internal governance updates and regulatory enforcement.

• What are the risks and opportunities of biometric adoption in Vietnam’s banking sector? Delays in biometric adoption risk service suspensions and transaction disruptions, but early adopters benefit from improved fraud prevention, increased customer trust, and streamlined operations in Vietnam’s expanding digital economy.