Banking sector enhances security amid digital payment boom

Banking sector enhances security amid digital payment boom

Việt Nam's banking sector is stepping up efforts to strengthen payment security as rapid growth in digital transactions and advances in artificial intelligence create new opportunities as well as increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, delegates heard at a conference organised by the Vietnam Banks Association on Thursday.

A customer is conducting a transaction via QR Code. Non-cash payments are expanding rapidly, requiring banks to invest in technology infrastructure, human resources and risk management to ensure security. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Đông

Việt Nam's banking sector is stepping up efforts to strengthen payment security as rapid growth in digital transactions and advances in artificial intelligence create new opportunities as well as increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, delegates heard at a conference organised by the Vietnam Banks Association on Thursday in Ninh Bình Province.

Đào Minh Tú, president of the association, said payment security was no longer solely the responsibility of individual banks but a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the financial system.

He warned that security breaches could cause financial losses for customers and erode market confidence, stressing that banks must continue investing in technology infrastructure, human resources and risk management capabilities.

"Security measures must always stay one step ahead of emerging threats," Tú said.

According to Phạm Anh Tuấn, director of the Payment Department under the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV), non-cash payments continued to record strong growth in the first four months of 2026, with transaction volume rising 36.02 per cent year-on-year and transaction value increasing 10.74 per cent.

The growth was driven by the expanding use of internet banking, mobile banking and QR code payments, he said.

However, Tuấn warned that the rapid expansion of digital payments has also created new vulnerabilities as cybercriminals continually adapt their methods and tactics.

"Ensuring the safety of payment systems and maintaining public trust remain the foundation for the development of digital payments," he said.

To strengthen payment security, the central bank has introduced a range of measures, including regulatory reforms, tighter card payment security standards and closer cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security.

As of May 22, more than 161.2 million individual customer records and over 2.26 million corporate customer records had been verified through biometric authentication linked to chip-based citizen identity cards or the VNeID digital identity platform.

The SBV's SIMO monitoring system, which helps detect and prevent fraudulent transactions, has been connected to 147 institutions, enabling the identification of suspicious accounts and transactions.

The Vietnam Banks Association has also issued a handbook to improve coordination among financial institutions in handling suspected fraud involving bank accounts, payment cards and merchants.

As of May 25, participating institutions had verified and taken action against 4,244 accounts suspected of fraudulent activity and traced 2,157 additional accounts linked to fraud networks.

A representative from Vietcombank said many lenders had established internal coordination mechanisms and maintained 24/7 incident response teams to improve their ability to respond to security threats. However, further improvements were still needed in operational procedures, processing times, legal frameworks and digital transformation.

Closing the conference, Tú called on financial institutions to shift from a reactive approach to proactive risk identification and prevention, while strengthening cooperation with regulators, technology firms and international partners.

He said building a secure and sustainable digital payments ecosystem would be essential to supporting Việt Nam's accelerating digital transformation. 

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