Circular No. 23/2023/TT-NHNN on technical standards for bank vaults and cash transport vehicles of credit institutions and foreign bank branches

CIRCULAR

Regulations on technical standards for cash vaults and money transport vehicles of credit organizations and foreign bank branches

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Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam dated June 16, 2010;

Pursuant to the Law on Credit Organizations dated June 16, 2010; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Credit Organizations dated November 20, 2017;

Pursuant to Decree No. 40/2012/NĐ-CP dated May 2, 2012 of the Government on currency issuance operations; storage and transportation of valuable assets and securities within the State Bank of Vietnam system, credit organizations, and foreign bank branches;

Decree No. 102/2022/NĐ-CP dated December 12, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Director of the Issuance and Treasury Department;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam issues this Circular stipulating technical standards for cash vaults and money transport vehicles of credit organizations and foreign bank branches.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates on:

1. Technical standards for cash vaults at headquarters and branches of credit organizations and headquarters of foreign bank branches.

2. Technical standards for money transport vehicles, valuable assets, and securities of credit organizations and foreign bank branches.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to credit organizations and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Cash vault is the warehouse of credit organizations and foreign bank branches used for storing money, valuable assets, and securities.

2. Vault room the cash vault is divided into several rooms to store different types of assets separately or to provide asset storage services and safe deposit box rentals.

3. Buffer room is the room separating the cash vault door from the outside and is where money, valuable assets, and securities are rechecked before being moved in or out of the vault.

4. Cash vault protection corridor is the area surrounding the cash vault, separating the vault wall from adjacent areas.

5. Security equipment systems for cash vaults (referred to as security equipment systems), including: Electrical system; intrusion alarm; cameras; fire detection and suppression; ventilation; and other security equipment systems.

6. Money transport vehicle is a specialized automobile used to transport money, valuable assets, and securities of credit organizations and foreign bank branches.

Chapter II

TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR CASH VAULTS

Article 4. General provisions on cash vaults

1. Cash vaults must be constructed within the premises of credit organizations and foreign bank branches; they must have sufficient usable area to meet the requirements for storing money, valuable assets, and securities.

The General Director (Director) of credit organizations and foreign bank branches decides on constructing cash vaults at locations outside the organization's premises but must ensure compliance with the technical standards for cash vaults stipulated in this Circular.

2. Cash vaults must be located in a reasonable position, ensuring convenience for enclosed and secure fund operations.

3. Cash vaults must be equipped with security equipment systems.

4. Credit organizations and foreign bank branches providing asset storage services and safe deposit box rentals must use vault rooms with separate doors according to vault door standards or separate vaults; or install individual safes and cabinets placed within the vault or vault room to provide asset storage services.

Article 5. Structure and technical standards for cash vaults

1. The floor, walls, and ceiling of the vault must be made of reinforced concrete forming a solid block and must meet the following standards:

a) The floor surface of the cash vault must be flat. The floor consists of layers from top to bottom: Anti-slip, compression-resistant, impact-resistant layer; reinforced concrete; gravel concrete; yellow sand; natural soil treated against termites and moisture; In cases where the cash vault is built on an upper floor, the floor must meet the technical standards of the ceiling, but with an additional anti-slip, compression-resistant, impact-resistant layer;

b) The height of the vault walls must be appropriate for the height of the floor where the cash vault is built;

c) The ceiling must be a solid reinforced concrete slab;

d) The cash vault protection corridor (if present) must have its own door and be equipped with an intrusion alarm system;

đ) Ventilation openings must be appropriately arranged on the vault walls, buffer room walls (if present);

e) Elevators must be installed for cash vaults built on upper floors or basements to transport money, valuable assets, and securities.

2. Cash vaults at headquarters and branches of credit organizations and headquarters of foreign bank branches must meet the minimum technical standards specified in Appendix I attached to this Circular.

Article 6. Vault Door

1. The vault door shall be located in a discreet position, opening into a buffer room (if any), with two layers of steel wings, the distance between the two layers being appropriate to the thickness of the vault wall and must meet the following standards:

a) The vault door frame shall be made of steel in a U-shape, with a width suitable for the thickness of the vault wall, reinforced with steel plates; the bottom of the frame shall be flush with the floor of the vault, buffer room (if any) and poured as a single concrete block with the walls and floor of the vault;

b) The outer layer of the door wing shall be made of steel, forming a sturdy box shape. The outer surface shall be a continuous steel plate, welded with a spiral steel plate on the inner contact surface; followed by a layer of concrete, steel mesh or anti-drill steel. The edge of the wing shall have a steel trim. Between the locking system and the concrete layer shall be a steel plate partition with a minimum thickness of 3mm. At critical positions of the latch and lock system, an additional layer of folded steel or steel plate with a minimum thickness of 6mm capable of resisting thermal cutting by gas shall be added. On one side of the door frame, there shall be hinges with three fixed pins or stops, and on the opposite side, there shall be five movable latches or stops controlled by a handle. Two combination locks with three or four code numbers, equipped with locating keys, number shields, and convenient code change mechanisms shall be installed;

c) The inner layer of the wing shall be the same size as the outer layer; the door wing frame shall be a steel box shape, with two horizontal bars and vertical bars spaced 50mm apart. One side of the frame shall have hinges with two fixed pins, and the opposite side shall have three movable latches controlled by a handle. There shall be a wing stop on the moving side of the door frame. A recessed spring lock shall be installed; the lock can be operated from both inside and outside;

d) The vault door lock must have clear origin, accompanied by technical specifications and user manuals;

2. Buffer room door: In cases where the buffer room door is inside the vault, it shall comply with the standards for the inner layer of the vault door;

3. The vault door at the main office, branches of credit organizations, and foreign bank branch offices must meet the minimum technical standards stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

Article 7. Requirements for Equipment Systems Installed in Vaults

1. The vault must be equipped with the following equipment systems:

a) A stable power supply for the operation of equipment systems, with a backup power source when the grid power fails. Power switching devices shall be installed outside the vault; switches and outlets shall be arranged inside the vault to serve other equipment operations for the vault; low heat-emitting lighting systems with protective frames or boxes using grid power and emergency lighting (if available) shall be installed inside the vault;

b) Sufficient capacity fans shall be installed at appropriate ventilation openings to ensure fresh air circulation within the vault, reducing pollution. Air expelled from the vault shall not cause pollution in surrounding work areas;

c) Fire alarm and extinguishing systems shall be provided and installed according to regulations set by competent authorities on fire prevention and extinguishing, ensuring Vietnam's fire prevention and extinguishing standards;

d) Intrusion detection alarm systems shall be provided and installed with devices such as:

(i) Infrared detectors installed inside the vault; buffer room and protected corridor (if any) to monitor movement in these areas;

(ii) Magnetic switches installed on the inner surfaces of doors: outer layer of the vault door; buffer room door, buffer room door, protected corridor door (if any), and some necessary doors;

(iii) Emergency alarm buttons installed inside the vault; buffer room (if any) and some necessary areas to alert when unexpected incidents occur;

e) Surveillance cameras shall be installed at necessary locations to ensure monitoring of the vault door area; buffer room, protected corridor, transport elevator (if any); inside the vault (if necessary) and some necessary areas. The camera system must ensure recording, transmission, and extraction of images for management, monitoring, inspection, and supervision tasks;

2. Equipment systems shall be managed, used, and regularly monitored and checked for operation. Control panels shall be placed in discreet locations, ensuring the security of parameters while facilitating management and use;

3. Equipment systems installed at the main office, branches of credit organizations, and foreign bank branch offices must meet the minimum requirements stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article;

Chapter III

CASH TRANSPORT VEHICLES

Article 8. Money-carrying vehicles

1. Money-carrying motor vehicles must have a money compartment, precious assets, and valuable documents compartments; they shall be equipped with fire extinguishing equipment, tracking devices (if applicable), and space for escort and security personnel.

2. The money compartment must meet the following technical standards:

a) For trucks: It must be enclosed with three layers. The outer and inner layers must be made of rust-resistant steel or steel treated to resist rust, with a minimum thickness of 1mm for the outer layer and 2mm for the inner layer; the middle layer must be fire-resistant material. The money compartment door must have one wing.

b) For other types of vehicles: It must be enclosed with three layers (excluding the original vehicle body). The outer and inner layers must be made of rust-resistant steel or steel treated to resist rust, with a minimum thickness of 1mm for the outer layer and 2mm for the inner layer; the middle layer must be fire-resistant material. The money compartment door must have two wings, where the outer wing uses the original vehicle door. In case the money compartment is designed with a window facing the driver's cabin, the window structure must have two layers: the inner layer must be a steel mesh with bars spaced no more than 60mm apart; the outer layer must be transparent material and steel mesh.

c) The door of the money compartment must have sturdy hinges, locks, and latches (spring lock or mechanical coded lock, electronic coded lock), with dimensions convenient for loading and unloading.

d) The money compartment must be equipped with lighting, intrusion alarm systems, fire detection systems, and cameras (if applicable).

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 9. Responsibilities of relevant units under the State Bank of Vietnam

1. The Issuance and Treasury Department is responsible for guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Circular.

2. Banking inspection agencies, State Bank branches in provinces and cities are responsible for inspecting and supervising the implementation of this Circular for credit institutions and foreign bank branches according to their assigned functions and tasks.

Article 10. Responsibilities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches

1. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall base on actual capacity and requirements for money storage, precious assets, and valuable documents to establish and guide regulations within their system regarding:

a) The area of the money vault; layout of the vault room, buffer room, and buffer room door, protective corridor (if applicable) suitable for the main office and branch vaults;

b) Technical standards for the money vault and requirements for equipment systems installed in the transaction office vault;

c) Regulations on the retention period for camera image data;

d) Regulations on other means of transportation (other than money-carrying vehicles) in areas with difficult or special traffic conditions, based on actual needs and responsibilities for ensuring the safety of money and assets;

e) Regulations on management, use, and operation of equipment systems; internal rules or guidance documents specifying monitoring and handling procedures when receiving signals of equipment malfunctions; regular maintenance and repair of equipment systems according to manufacturer and installation unit guidelines.

2. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall base on actual conditions and provisions of this Circular to study and apply scientific and technological advancements in building money vaults and equipping equipment and transportation systems within their systems and bear responsibility for ensuring the safety of money and assets.

3. Credit institutions and foreign bank branches shall be solely responsible for selecting and installing money vault doors and equipment systems that meet the technical standards stipulated in this Circular.

4. Regarding People's Credit Funds and microfinance organizations:

a) People's Credit Funds and microfinance organizations with sufficient capacity and conditions shall comply with all relevant regulations in this Circular when constructing money vaults and purchasing money-carrying vehicles;

b) People's Credit Funds and microfinance organizations without the necessary conditions to construct money vaults and purchase money-carrying vehicles according to the standards set out in this Circular, the Chairman of the Management Board and General Director (Director) shall be responsible for directing the construction, repair, renovation, and upgrading of money vaults; arranging appropriate means and methods of protection and transportation of money to ensure safety during the preservation and transportation of money by People's Credit Funds and microfinance organizations.

Article 11. Transitional Provisions

1. For money-carrying vehicles purchased and equipped, and money vaults constructed, renovated, upgraded, and installed with equipment systems according to standards prescribed in documents issued before Circular No. 02/2012/TT-NHNN dated October 25, 2012, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam comes into effect, continue to be used. In cases of damage or need for replacement, units must repair, replace, or supplement in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. For money-carrying vehicles purchased and equipped, and money vaults constructed, renovated, upgraded, and installed with equipment systems or contracts for procurement and construction signed according to Circular No. 02/2012/TT-NHNN dated October 25, 2012, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam before this Circular takes effect, continue to be used and implement maintenance and repair regimes as prescribed.

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 12, 2024.

2. This Circular abolishes Circular No. 02/2012/TT-NHNN dated October 25, 2012, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam concerning technical standards for money vaults and specialized vehicles of credit institutions and foreign bank branches.

Article 13. Responsibility for implementation organization

The Director of the Office, the Director of the Issuance and Treasury Department, the Heads of units under the State Bank, the Governors of the State Bank branches in provinces and cities; credit organizations, foreign bank branches shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular./.