Bank customers in Vietnam are complaining about facial authentication required for online bank transfers in excess of VND10 million (US$390) by commercial banks with effect from July 1.

Although they already completed the required biometric registration process, they are still unable to transfer money.

Nguyen Loc, a resident of District 8, Ho Chi Minh City, said that he quickly made his biometric registration after receiving an announcement on facial authentication for online transactions.

However, he failed to transfer over VND10 million on July 1.

His attempt was rejected on the online banking app of TPBank as facial recognition failed, he recounted.

“I tried to make a transaction over three times, but I received notifications reading ‘Facial recognition fails. Please re-register biometric information. Please ensure a suitable pose, good lighting and camera when making face authentication.’” Loc lamented.

Loc shared that he used the same smartphone, Iphone 15 Pro, when registering biometric information on the online banking app and transferring money on July 1.

His smartphone worked well, he said, adding that his face had no changes. 

“Due to the flop of the system, I had to divide the amount into lower-value transactions to avoid a requirement of face verification,” Loc said.

He also worried that if the problem was not resolved, users would be in trouble when transferring large amounts of money.

Meanwhile, Doan Trang, who lives in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, said that though she successfully made an online payment of over VND10 million for an air ticket using face verification, she had to try several times due to system errors.

“I found it inconvenient. Many of my friends have been struggling to transfer money of over VND10 million since the requirement of face authentication took effect,” she complained.

Face verification is now required for all online transfers of VND10 million or more in Vietnam. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

The biometric registration process on banking apps has frustrated many users.

My Khanh, a resident of Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, said that when she experienced the NFC (Near Field Communication) step to register biometric information on a banking app, a notification appeared, reading that her ID card is invalid. 

Yet, she successfully made biometric registration on a banking app of another bank on Tuesday.

Many residents in Ho Chi Minh City visited bank branches for support on Tuesday after they failed to register.

The Vietcombank branch on Phan Dang Luu Street in Phu Nhuan District was crowded with customers the same day.

B., a resident of the southern metropolis, said that he had waited for four hours to be supported for biometric registration at the bank branch.

He shared that he first went to the Vietcombank branch on No Trang Long Street to access the support, but he was informed that it did not have an NFC device.

Facing the same fate, Nhu and Thuy, who reside in Binh Thanh District, suffered from long waits at the branch.

A bank employee at the branch said that all the staffers there had to work through their breaks to support the sheer number of customers in need.

A woman takes the face verification step to use a storage cabinet at a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Thien / Tuoi Tre

As for foreigners, they were required to go to bank branches for mandatory biometric authentication, many banks said, citing the directive from the State Bank of Vietnam.

Foreign customers, who have no chip-based ID card, must bring their passport with them to bank branches.

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