Five cases cause Vietcombank, VietinBank, Agribank and BIDV to suspend all withdrawal and transfer transactions

Banks in Vietnam will suspend transactions on accounts that have not fully updated identity documents and biometric data, following regulations from the State Bank of Vietnam. The rules apply to major commercial banks including Vietcombank, BIDV, VietinBank, and Agribank, with account locks affecting payment operations if users do not meet the updated requirements ahead of 2026 milestones.

What accounts will have all transactions suspended

Banks will apply account freezing measures, including withdrawals and transfers, for five specific customer groups.

Individuals

• Transactions will be blocked if the documents used to open the account have expired and have not been updated with new documents.
• Online transaction features will be disabled for those who have not completed biometric data verification by facial recognition or fingerprint.
• For foreign nationals, accounts will be locked immediately if legally valid residence papers in Vietnam are no longer valid.

Corporate customers

• All transactions will be suspended if the legal representative or the chief accountant has expired identity documents.
• If the person authorized to use the account has personal documents that are no longer valid, payment or withdrawal operations performed by that person will be rejected.
• Transactions conducted at branches, through digital banking apps, and via ATM or POS will be severely affected if any of the above cases apply.

Officially stopping passport usage in financial transactions from 1/1/2026

Under Circular 17/2024/TT-NHNN and Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN, passports will no longer be accepted as valid documents for Vietnamese citizens in financial transactions. From 1/1/2026, banks will not accept passports to perform payment, withdrawal, or card use transactions.

The regulation requires users to update identity information by switching to citizen ID cards or electronic ID. The stated tightening aims to synchronize data with the national population database and strengthen fraud and identity spoofing prevention.

Tightening credit card issuance from 5/1/2026

Credit card issuance will also change under Circular 45/2025/TT-NHNN, which amends previous regulations. Starting from 5/1/2026, users will not be able to complete credit card opening procedures entirely online as before. Issuing institutions will be required to meet in person with customers or their legal representatives to perform biometric verification.

The new rules also include risk control of cash flow by capping the total cash withdrawal limit via credit cards for each individual at no more than 100 million VND per month.

Impact and expected compliance steps

Overall, the State Bank’s measures are designed to strengthen security by requiring timely updates to identity documents and biometric data. Users are expected to proactively adjust their information and procedures to avoid interruptions to payments, withdrawals, and card-related transactions as the 2026 deadlines approach.