C.K., a Phu Nhuan District resident, was shocked to read an email from Vietcombank asking her to update her credit card information with details she deems too personal to be specified.

K. was required to declare her birth mother’s name, the type of possession she holds over her current house, and her number of dependents, those who financially rely on her.

Moreover, K. was asked to specify what type of company she works for: if it is a state or group company, corporation, military-run enterprise, or private firm.

The cardholder asserted she had already given all necessary information to the bank when opening her new account.

“But why are they requesting that I add more detailed and private information now?” she said angrily.

Many other cardholders have also been annoyed by the requests. Some even suspect it is the work of a scammer, disguised as the bank to collect their private information.

But a Vietcombank Ho Chi Minh City spokeperson confirmed with Tuoi Tre that it has been collecting such information from its credit card customers since the beginning of this month.

“We want to gain more detailed information about the customers to determine their credit limits more accurately,” he said.

Last year a proposal to issue new identity (ID) cards that include the name of cardholders’ parents was also strongly protested by members of the public.

Some 35,000 cards with the new design have been issued under a pilot program.

But earlier this month, the Prime Minister officially ruled that the name of cardholders’ parents must not be included on the ID cards.