Circular No. 28/2019/TT-NHNN amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016 issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities

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

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 101/2012/NĐ-CP dated November 22, 2012, of the Government on non-cash payments; Decree No. 80/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016, of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 101/2012/NĐ-CP; Decree No. 16/2019/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2019, of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of decrees on business conditions within the scope of management of the State Bank of Vietnam;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 16/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

At the proposal of the Payment Department Director;

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam promulgates Circular amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities

1. Amending Clause 7, 19, 23, 25 and supplementing Clause 8a, 8b of Article 3 as follows:

"7. Non-physical card is a card that does not exist in physical form, existing in electronic form and containing information specified in Article 12 of this Circular, issued by the card issuer for the cardholder to conduct transactions on the internet, application programs on mobile devices; it does not include cases where physical cards have registered functions for conducting transactions on the internet, application programs on mobile devices. A non-physical card may be printed out as a physical card upon request of the cardholder."

"8a. Domestic transaction with card presentation is a card transaction in which the card is issued by a card issuer in Vietnam and is used to conduct card transactions at ATMs, point-of-sale terminals in Vietnam."

"8b. Fraudulent payment transaction at merchant acceptance terminal is the use of a card or card information to pay for goods or services but in reality, there is no actual purchase or supply of goods or services."

"19. International Card Organization (ICOs for short) is an organization established and operating abroad in accordance with foreign laws, which has agreements with card issuers, card processors, card switching organizations, and/or other parties to cooperate on bank card activities for cards bearing ICO-issued card issuer identification numbers or card issuer identification numbers from another country, in compliance with Vietnamese laws and international commitments."

"23. Card Issuer Identification Number (Bank Identification Number - BIN for short) is a series of digits including: BIN identifying the card issuer according to regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the State Bank) in the Regulation on the issuance, use, and management of bank card issuer identification numbers, BIN issued by ICOs, and BIN from other countries. In cases where the card has a BIN issued by an ICO or a BIN from another country, the issuance, use, and management of BIN shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the ICO or the country issuing the BIN."

"25. Card payment contract is an agreement between card processors with merchants or with ICOs, card switching organizations (if applicable) regarding the acceptance of payment for goods or services using cards."

2. Amending Clause 2 of Article 8 (which has been amended according to the provision of Clause 2 of Article 1 of Circular No. 26/2017/TT-NHNN dated December 29, 2017, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities) as follows:

"2. Conducting, organizing, or facilitating others to conduct fraudulent card transactions, counterfeit card transactions, or fraudulent payment transactions at merchant acceptance terminals."

3. Amending Point a of Clause 1 of Article 12 as follows:

"a) Name of the card issuer (abbreviated name or trademark of the card issuer). In cases where the card bears abbreviated names or trademarks of multiple organizations (including card issuers, organizations cooperating or partnering with card issuers, card switching organizations, ICOs, and related units), the information on the card must clearly indicate that the card is issued by the card issuer (or that the card is the property of the card issuer) to avoid confusion for customers;"

4. Amending Clause 2 of Article 16 (which has been amended according to the provision of Clause 7 of Article 1 of Circular No. 26/2017/TT-NHNN dated December 29, 2017, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities) as follows:

"2. For the main cardholder who is an organization: An organization eligible to open a settlement account can use debit cards. An organization that is a legal entity established and operating legally in accordance with Vietnamese laws can use credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. The cardholder organization may authorize individuals in writing to use its cards or allow individuals to use secondary cards in accordance with this Circular."

5. Amending Point b of Clause 3 of Article 16 as follows:

"b) Individuals aged 15 years or older but under 18 years old who are not incapacitated or partially incapacitated in civil acts may use debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards;"

6. Amending Point b, c of Clause 3 of Article 17 as follows:

"b) Credit cards may be used to pay for goods and services, deposit or withdraw cash according to the agreement between the cardholder and the card issuer; credit cards may not be used to transfer funds (or credit) into settlement accounts, debit cards, or prepaid cards;

c) Anonymous prepaid cards may only be used to pay for legitimate goods and services at point-of-sale terminals in Vietnam; they may not be used to conduct card transactions on the internet or through mobile applications, nor may they be used to withdraw cash. Deposits into anonymous prepaid cards must comply with the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 14 of this Circular;"

7. Amending Point d of Clause 3 of Article 17 (which has been added according to the provision of Clause 8 of Article 1 of Circular No. 26/2017/TT-NHNN dated December 29, 2017, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card activities) as follows:

"d) The card may be used to pay for lawful goods and services as prescribed by Vietnamese law, including purchases made abroad; except in cases provided for in point c of this clause."

8. Amend point b of Clause 3 of Article 18 (which has been amended pursuant to Clause 9 of Article 1 of Circular No. 26/2017/TT-NHNN dated December 29, 2017 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card operations) as follows:

"b) Require the merchant service provider to provide documentation proving that its business activities are lawful when entering into a contract with such provider. The card issuer must establish criteria for selecting merchant service providers and conduct initial and periodic (quarterly or annually) evaluations and classifications of entities requiring acceptance of card payments in accordance with their business characteristics and industry."

9. Amend Clause 5 of Article 18 as follows:

"5. When participating in agreements on bank card operations, the card payment network operator, the card issuer, the card switching organization, and the electronic transaction settlement organization must agree on the responsibility of the parties involved to comply with the regulations of the law on foreign exchange management, personal data protection, individual privacy rights, security of card documents and information, card transactions, and account information of the cardholder."

10. Amend Clause 3 of Article 21 as follows:

"3. If the card issuer is permitted to engage in foreign exchange operations, it may provide card payment services with BIN issued by the central bank and cards with BIN from other countries."

11. Amend Clause 5 of Article 22 as follows:

"5. The card issuer shall not discriminate between card payments with BIN issued by the State Bank of Vietnam and those with BIN issued by the central bank and cards with BIN from other countries; nor shall it enter into agreements with other organizations to limit or prevent the acceptance of co-branded card transactions."

12. Amend Clauses 2, 3, and 5 of Article 24 as follows:

"2. Switching of domestic transactions presented by cards with BIN issued by the central bank and cards with BIN from other countries between the card payment network operator, the card issuer, and the central bank must be carried out through a gateway operated by a card switching organization licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam.

3. Electronic settlement of transactions with cards having BIN issued by the central bank and cards with BIN from other countries shall be conducted according to agreements between the card payment network operator, the card issuer, and related parties."

"5. Card switching organizations and electronic transaction settlement organizations must directly connect their systems with the card payment network operator, the card issuer, and the central bank in accordance with agreements among the parties, ensuring the safe and continuous provision of switching services and other services to member organizations and the central bank participating in the connection, and complying with relevant legal regulations."

13. Add point c to Clause 1 and amend Clause 2 of Article 31 as follows:

"c) Coordinate with the Banking Inspection and Supervision Authority, the State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally-administered cities, and related units to inspect and examine compliance with the provisions of this Circular upon request."

"2. The Banking Inspection and Supervision Authority; the State Bank of Vietnam branch in provinces and centrally-administered cities"

Shall inspect and examine compliance with the provisions of this Circular, handle violations within their authority, and notify the Payment Department and related units of the results."

14. Clause 2 of Article 32 (which has been amended and supplemented pursuant to Clause 13 of Article 1 of Circular No. 26/2017/TT-NHNN dated December 29, 2017 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card operations and pursuant to Clause 6 of Article 1 of Circular No. 41/2018/TT-NHNN dated December 28, 2018 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on bank card operations) shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. Clause 2 of Article 24 of this Circular shall take effect from January 1, 2021."

15. Replace the Appendix accompanying Circular No. 19/2016/TT-NHNN (which has been replaced pursuant to Clause 12 of Article 1 of Circular No. 30/2016/TT-NHNN dated October 14, 2016 of the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam amending and supplementing certain Circulars on the provision of payment services and payment intermediary services) with the Appendix accompanying this Circular.

Article 2. Transitional Provisions

For card models issued before the effective date of this Circular, the information on the card shall comply with the regulations at the time of issuance. For new card models issued or modified after the effective date of this Circular, the card payment network operator shall comply with the regulations on card information set forth in this Circular.

This Circular takes effect from December 25, 2025/.

The Director of the Office, the Head of the Payment Department, the Heads of related units under the State Bank of Vietnam, the Governors of the State Bank of Vietnam branches in provinces and centrally-administered cities, the Chairmen of the Management Boards, the Chairmen of the Board of Members, and the General Managers (Directors) of credit institutions, foreign bank branches, card switching organizations, and electronic transaction settlement organizations are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

Article 4. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2020.

2. Clause 14 of Article 1 of this Circular takes effect from January 1, 2020./.