Customers rush to banks for biometric verification as Jan 1 deadline nears

By Quynh Trang   December 30, 2024 | 04:45 am PT
In the final weekend before the Jan. 1, 2025, deadline for biometric verification, many customers, especially seniors, rushed to banks instead of completing the process online.

Under a directive from the State Bank of Vietnam, customers who fail to complete biometric verification will not be able to carry out online transactions.

To handle the rush, state-owned banks such as Vietcombank, VietinBank, Agribank, and BIDV extended their working hours and remained open on weekends.

People visiting banks rather than complete the process online were seniors, technologically challenged people and those lacking chip-based citizen ID cards.

Chi nhánh VietinBank tại quần 10 đón khách sinh trắc học vào chiều thứ 7, ngày 28/12. Ảnh: Quỳnh Trần.

VietinBank’s District 10, HCMC branch welcoming customers for biometric verification on the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

In industrial areas, many factory and company employees flocked to branches during weekends.

Vietcombank branches in these places had to get their employees to work overtime.

VietinBank followed suit. On the morning of Dec. 28, its District 10 branch in HCMC saw a large turnout of customers, mostly hospital staff receiving salaries via their accounts.

A customer in District 10 told VnExpress he was not a regular online user because of his limited tech proficiency, but visited the bank nevertheless to avoid possible disruptions to his banking activities.

Một khách hàng lớn tuổi gặp trục trặc với tính năng chụp ảnh trên điện thoại nên trực tiếp chi nhánh VietinBank tại quận 10 (TP HCM). Sau khoảng 20 phút thao tác, việc xác thực thành công. Ảnh: Quỳnh Trần

An elderly customer, facing issues with taking self portrait on his phone, visited VietinBank’s District 10 branch in HCMC on the afternoon of Dec. 28, 2024 for biometric verification. The process was successfully completed in about 20 minutes. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

VietinBank deputy general director Tran Cong Quynh Lan said 86% of his bank’s customers have completed the biometric verification. VietinBank had required customers to complete the biometric verification even before the regulator made it mandatory, he said.

Vietcombank has been working beyond regular hours, including on weekends, for over a month and will continue to do so through mid-January. By working from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends, it has doubled the number of biometric verifications.

By Dec. 28 nearly 10 million Vietcombank customers had completed it, 25% of them online through the bank’s app, which is integrated directly with the Ministry of Public Security’s VNeID system, eliminating the need for NFC scanning of chip-based citizen IDs.

Vietcombank was the first to utilize the ministry’s electronic verification service.

Private banks are offering incentives to encourage timely compliance.

ACB is offering customers additional interest of up to 1.6% for online savings for terms of one to three months, and TPBank is giving away free vanity account numbers and offering 0.2% extra interest for savings deposits.

Tính đến cuối ngày 28/12, gần 10 triệu khách hàng của Vietcombank đã sinh trắc học thành công. Trong đó, 25% khách hàng của nhà băng này cập nhật trực tuyến từ ứng dụng Vietcombank kết nối thẳng với VNEID, tức không cần phải thao tác quét NFC. Đây cũng là nhà băng đầu tiên khai thác dịch vụ xác thực điện tử của Bộ Công an. Ảnh: Giang Huy

A bank employee capturing a customer's portrait for biometric verification. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

The central bank has made biometric verification compulsory for withdrawing cash, making online payments through banks and finance companies.

But physical card use -- at points of sale and ATMs -- will remain unaffected.

 
 
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