Ownership of bank deposits in Vietnam

The core business of a bank (a Bank) is to take monies (Deposits) deposited by its customers (Depositors) and to lend such monies to its borrowers. Therefore, legally, it is important to determine who owns the Deposits. Unfortunately, Vietnamese banking law is not clear whether after the Depositors make a Deposit with the Bank, the Bank or the Deposit owns the Deposit.

The case for the Bank

The most logical conclusion is that:

· the Bank is the owner of the Deposit;

· the Depositor is not the owner of the Deposit, but the Depositor has a contractual right to request the Bank to return the Deposit to the Depositor in accordance with the terms of the Deposit; and

· the borrower will own the Deposit after it borrows the same from the Bank.

SOME LEGAL ISSUES IN TRADING DEBTS IN VIETNAM

Set out below are some legal issues in transfer of debts (Debts) from a credit institution (Originator) to a company licensed to trade debts in Vietnam (Debt Trading Co). Debt trading between a credit institution and a credit institution is useful for the credit institution to handle its bad debts or to issue assets-backed securities:

Credit institutions are allowed to negotiate loan interest rates based on market demand and supply and the creditworthiness without being restricted to maximum interest rate except in some cases. Meanwhile, interest rates of loans extended by non-credit institutions are subject to the maximum interest rate of 20% per annum under the Civil Code 2015. In practice, interest rates of consumer loans are quite high and could be higher than the maximum rate of 20% per annum. If the interest rate of the Debts is higher than 20% per annum, it is not clear at law whether the Debt Trading Co, upon owning the Debt, can continuously charge such interest rate;

Regulations on digital wallets in Vietnam

Digital wallets are an important tool for the development of e-commerce and fintech industries. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued certain regulations on digitial wallets. However, these regulations seem to be inadequate.

Under Decree 101/2012, a digital wallet is regarded as a payment intermediary service (dịch vụ trung gian thanh toán) whereby the wallet user is issued a digital account associated with an electronic media (e.g., a mobile phone) and containing a monetary value. The monetary value in a digital wallet is secured by monies transferred from the user’s bank account to the wallet service provider’s account. User can only inject and withdraw cash from a digital wallet through the user’s account. Monies in the wallet service provider’s account can only be used to pay for goods or service providers or to return to the wallet user. The Law on Anti-money Laundering 2012 requires a digital wallet service provider as a financial institution with new technology to meet face-to-face with its clients when the clients first make a transaction with the service provider.

In light of the above regulations,

An user without a bank account cannot have a digital wallet in Vietnam. This could hinder the growth of digital wallet.
Direct money transfers between two digital wallets are not permitted. In practice, the SBV is allowing certain digital wallets to conduct direct monies transfer on a pilot basis.
An user cannot withdraw cash or inject cash directly to his/her digital wallet. This must be done via a bank account.
Monies in a digital wallet may not be used as security for lending.
A digital wallet provider is required to meet face to face with its customer whenever a wallet is issued.

5 September 2018 - Update to reflect the requirements under Anti-money laundering regulations.

Info

Comment

Vietnamese regulator’s imposing prohibition on cryptocurrency activities

Under a recent announcement in Official Letter No. 4486/UBCK-GSDC dated 20 July 2018, the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) requires public companies, securities companies, asset management companies, and securities investment funds (quỹ đầu tư chứng khoán) (i) not to conduct any illegal offering, transaction or transaction brokerage relating to virtual money (tiền ảo) which should include cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and to (ii) adhere to the legal regulations on anti-money laundering.

The above official letter was based on Directive 10/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister dated 11 April 2018. Both of them once again confirm the view of Vietnamese government on virtual money that was stated by the State Bank of Vietnam in its press release dated 27 February 2014 about Bitcoin in Vietnam:

(a) virtual money is not currency; and

(b) virtual money is not a legal tender.

Vietnam Business Law