Hanoi, (VNA)ꦺ – The regulations on transaction limit for intermediary payment service and e-wallet are introduced to reduce risks as those services can be used in illegal transactions, said a representative from the drafting board of amendments to Circular 39/2014/TT-NHNN.

Pham Tien Dung, head of the Payment Department at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) made the explanation at the May 10 workshop to collect recommendations on the draft circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular 39. The event was held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Many conditions

Specifically, the draft amendments contain many regulations on the activities of payment intermediaries and e-wallets, such as transactions through e-wallets are not allowed to surpass 20 million VND a day and 100 million VND a month for individuals, and 100 million VND a day and 500 million a month for organisations. Users are also required to declare personal information when opening an e-wallet, and cannot open more than one e-wallet at a single service provider. In addition, the draft circular keeps the current stipulation that all money depositing and withdrawing transactions of e-wallets must be done through bank accounts. Service providers are required to have tools allowing the SBV to monitor their transaction system and data. According to Dung, the regulations are important to promoting e-payment among banks in the future. He acknowledged the active contributions by fintech firms in developing e-payment for public services, and affirmed the State bank’s policy to encourage the development of e-payment. The SBV has submitted a mobile money project to the Government and is collecting opinions from ministries and sectors on the sandbox mechanism, Dung said. The intermediary payment sector has made leaping growth in the past time, contributing to the strong growth of e-commerce and the digital economy in Vietnam. Dau Anh Tuan, head of the Legal Department under the VCCI, stressed that payment is a key link in each economic transaction, so whether payment transactions can grow fast and sustainably depends on the legal framework for them. “It is very important to perfect the draft circular, to ensure safety for users on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also necessary to facilitate development of e-transactions along the direction set by the Government,” Tuan said. 

E-wallets are only used for small transactions?

At the workshop, experts and business representatives proposed that open mechanisms are needed to encourage non-cash payment. Phung Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI), voiced some concerns about the draft circular’s consistency with the government’s policy on reforming institutions and eliminating obstacles to facilitate businesses’ development, when the drafting board said the e-wallets are only used for small transactions. Tuan said the current legal framework has no regulations on this issue, and the setting of business conditions falls under the Government’s power. Besides, the Government is planning to revise Decree 101/2012/ND-CP on non-cash payment. Therefore, the State Bank should consider an appropriate time to issue the revised circular. Many opinions showed concern about the legal ground and practicality of the regulation on transaction limit for e-wallets.

Can Van Luc, head economist of BIDV said the drafting board should take into account the fact that per capita income and individual consumption need are rising fast.

  Chairman of the Financial Technology Club Tran Quang Huy said e-wallets are actually an asset of users and they should have the right to making decision regarding the asset. Assessing e-commerce in general, Chairman of the Vietnam E-Commerce Association Nguyen Thanh Hung said e-payment remains a bottleneck despite the fast growth of e-commerce recently. He was of the opinion that management agencies should pay more attention to mechanisms to encourage e-payment instead of limiting it. According to Hung, a draft regulation limit each user to one e-wallet at a service provider, while in reality, some users want to have multiple e-wallet –linked accounts to serve different needs in consumption and transaction. Representatives from intermediary payment and e-wallet service providers such as Payoo, ZaloPay, FPT Pay, MoMo, Moca, VinID also expressed their concern about technology and technique-related issues in the draft circular for the drafting board to give them further consideration./.