The State Bank of Vietnam hosted Mastercard’s Global Vice President Timothy Murphy for talks with Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung on expanding cooperation to develop Vietnam’s digital payments ecosystem and advance financial inclusion, with a focus on strengthening security and protecting users. SBV highlighted a people-centred approach and reported adult bank account ownership of 87%, up from around 30%, supported by policies allowing electronic account opening and card issuance via online identification (eKYC). To address rising high-tech crime, Vietnam has required biometric authentication for certain online transactions above a specified value threshold since 1 July 2024, and SBV indicated it is tightening security requirements further in 2025 in line with international standards. The central bank also flagged emerging supervisory priorities around digital assets, particularly stablecoins, and expanding cross-border payments for international tourists and Vietnamese residents travelling abroad, while maintaining compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards and safeguarding system stability; it also referenced the National Assembly’s approval in principle of an International Financial Centre on 27 June 2025. Mastercard set out cooperation priorities including a goal for Vietnam’s card market to reach 100% tokenization and authorisation by 2030, sharing experience on real-time payments and account-to-account fraud controls, and supporting dialogue on cross-border data flows in the context of Vietnam’s draft Cybersecurity Law. It also pointed to ISO 20022 as a foundation for next-generation real-time payment systems that could integrate with digital assets, and highlighted a proposed e-wallet and co-branded card solution aimed at enabling tourists to top up and pay in Vietnam and Vietnamese users to transact abroad.
State Bank of Vietnam 2025-09-10
State Bank of Vietnam engages Mastercard on payment security, cross-border payments and digital asset oversight including a 2030 100% card tokenization target
The State Bank of Vietnam and Mastercard discussed expanding cooperation to enhance Vietnam's digital payments and financial inclusion, focusing on security and user protection. The State Bank emphasized a people-centred approach, noting increased adult bank account ownership and new biometric authentication for certain transactions. Mastercard aims for 100% tokenization of Vietnam's card market by 2030 and highlighted initiatives for real-time payments and cross-border data flows.