E-wallets and banks are urging customers to update their chip-embedded citizen identification cards in order to prevent disruptions in high-value online transactions. Starting from July 1, all online money transfers over 10 million at a time or cumulatively over 20 million per day must undergo facial authentication matched with a centralized population database. Although less than 1% of e-wallet transactions are currently worth over 10 million, about 11% of banking industry transactions generate online money transfers surpassing 10 million VND.
TPBank is advising customers without or who have lost chip-embedded citizen identification cards to update and reapply for new documents. The process involves taking a photo of the card and using a reader on the phone to transmit data for authentication. TPBank reports that thousands of face samples and citizen identification cards are being updated into their system daily, with the majority being done proactively by customers. VietinBank has also seen hundreds of thousands of customers updating biometric authentication on their banking application. E-wallet companies like Ting are preparing to implement the new authentication system for both new and existing customers.
The process of authenticating biometrics for the first time involves taking photos of the citizen identification card, touching the card to the phone’s chip reader, and scanning the face. Foreign customers without chip-embedded citizen identification cards can use passports and visit the bank branch to update their biometric information. However, there are challenges with some phones not having NFC readers for authentication.
While some customers may be concerned about the new regulations taking effect on July 1, experts believe that the biometric authentication method offers many advantages. It is more convenient than traditional methods like OTP and Pin codes, and helps reduce the rate of virtual accounts and online fraud. Implementing biometrics in online transactions can make it harder for criminals to commit fraud and helps protect user accounts from unauthorized transactions.
