🥖 FaceID, IPOs, and Russia‘s song contest

Xin chào and welcome back to Bánh Mì Brief - your weekly update on Vietnam‘s economy. We cut through the noise to provide you with the week‘s most important headlines.

This week’s menu: account shut downs, IPOs, and Vietnamese pop culture.

Let‘s dive in.

Vietnam started shutting down 86 million bank accounts after owners failed to meet new biometric rules that require a face scan or fingerprint to prove the account’s authenticity.

The country has roughly 200 million bank accounts on the books. After cross‑checking with the national ID database and enforcing biometric verification, only about 113 million personal accounts and roughly 711,000 corporate accounts remain valid. If an account wasn’t verified or has been gathering dust, it’s on the chopping block. The move has also reignited debates about digital assets, with some pointing to on‑chain solutions as a hedge against sudden access restrictions.

The State Bank of Vietnam also introduced stricter thresholds for transactions. Biometric approval is required for online transfers above VND 10m (about USD 380) as well as for cumulative daily transfers over VND 20m (USD 760). The policy is part of the central bank’s broader cashless strategy to combat fraud, identity theft, and deepfake‑enabled scams.

In May, police said they dismantled a ring that used AI‑generated face scans to slip past checks, allegedly moving more than VND 1 trillion (around USD 39m). Regulators argue stronger biometrics are already helping to deter similar schemes, even if drawing a straight causal line is tricky in a moving system.

Consumers should expect more step‑up prompts including face scans for larger transfers and a one‑time re‑KYC using a chipped ID or an in‑branch visit. Foreign residents may face extra friction where remote verification is not supported. Businesses should treat Q4 as a biometric onboarding sprint for legal representatives to avoid frozen payouts or payroll delays.