Pham Anh Tuan, head of the Payment Department under the State Bank of Vietnam, speaks at a conference in Hanoi on September 26, 2025. Photo: CTV
The central bank has compiled a database of approximately 600,000 accounts suspected of involvement in scams and shared it with lenders to screen transactions, Pham Anh Tuan, head of the SBV’s payment department, said during a conference in Hanoi on Friday.
Using the database, the central bank piloted the system along with commercial lenders, which by early September had helped warn nearly 300,000 customers and halt transfers worth around VND1.5 trillion.
“With the new tool, customers will receive alerts if their transfers show signs of fraud. They can then decide whether to proceed,” Tuan said.
For example, he noted, an 18-year-old account holder making multiple transfers worth billions of dong in a single day would be considered suspicious.
Authorities are also tightening rules to prevent scammers from shifting to corporate accounts after restrictions were imposed on individuals, he added.
Digital payments a key pillar of national digital transformation
Non-cash payments have surged in Vietnam, growing an average 62 percent annually over the past five years, with 87 percent of adults now holding a bank account, according to the SBV.
Mobile and QR code transactions saw the fastest growth this year.
In the first seven months of 2025, non-cash transactions in Vietnam rose 44 percent in volume and 25 percent in value compared to the year earlier.
Mobile payments jumped 38 percent in volume and 21 percent in value, while QR code transactions surged 67 percent and 160 percent, respectively.
The central bank said it will continue to make digital payments a pillar of the country’s digital transformation, focusing on strengthening regulations and expanding services such as domestic cards and e-wallets to build a secure, efficient ecosystem.
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