Enhancing safety of operations during Lunar New Year 2021

Accordingly, the Departments at the SBV headquarters are requested to implement a number of actions, specifically as follows: (i) The Issue and Vault Department should actively monitor and acquire information on the situation and developments, focusing on directing effectively the regulation of cash supply, meeting in full the cash demands of the economy in terms of both quantities and face values; (ii) The Banking Supervision Agency should strengthen the inspection, examination and supervision of the operations of the credit institutions and the foreign banks’ branches to ensure the liquidity and the systemic safety; direct the Inspection and Supervision Divisions at the SBV provincial branches to coordinate with the local authorities to strengthen the inspection, promptly detect and strictly handle with any violations in foreign exchange trading and money exchange services in contravention of the laws; (iii) The Information Technology Department and the Central Banking Department should take measures to ensure that the interbank electronic payment system and the SBV information technology systems operate in a safe, efficient and transparent manner; (iv) The Information Technology Department should arrange staff members on duty; develop specific plans and working schedules for the interbank electronic payment system in the days before and after Tet; notifies the State Treasury, the credit institutions and/or the foreign banks’ branches to reach advance agreements with their customers in the spirit of providing maximum facilitation for the payment needs of organizations and individuals during the Tet holiday; monitor, detect, handle with and quickly fix any arising errors and problems in order to minimize possibilities of technical failures; take measures to ensure safe backup of the operational data, etc. (v) The Payment Department should actively monitor and closely supervise the operations of the important payment systems and the ATM systems in order to detect and provide prompt warnings to prevent and minimize any threats that may occur; (vi) The General Administration Department should arrange their human resources in order to stand ready for any security emergencies; controlling effectively in case of fire, explosions, natural disasters and terrorist attacks; ensuring absolute safety of the offices, the archive centers, the data centers, the backup data centers at the SBV headquarters.

The heads of the Departments should direct, inspect and supervise their staff members to ensure full compliance with the regulations on security, safety, prevention of fire, explosions, typhoons and floods before the Tet holiday; review and check carefully the means and equipment for fire prevention and fighting; taking specific measures to preserve and keep the documents safely and to prevent fire and explosions during the Tet holiday.

According to the assigned functions and tasks, the relevant Departments and affiliate agencies should actively monitor and acquire necessary information on the situation, arrange staff members on duty to promptly handle with any arising tasks during the Tet holidays, ensuring smooth and continuous operations; strictly comply with the reporting regime during Tet; the SBV Office should act as the focal point for the general reporting regime, as well as the reporting before, during, and after the Tet holidays at the request of the Government, the Prime Minister and the SBV Governor.

The National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS): NAPAS is requested to strictly implement the instructions of the SBV in Document No. 9027/NHNN-TT dated December 11, 2020 to ensure safe and smooth payment operations in accordance with the regulations, i.e.: Check the contingency plans; monitor and supervise closely and promptly handle with any errors and incidents, ensuring stable, safe and continuous operations of the financial switching and electronic clearing system, meeting any sudden demand increase in transactions during the Lunar New Year; promptly report on any arising incident to the SBV; closely coordinate with the member banks to promptly handle with and respond to the customers' inquiries and complaints in line with the regulations.

The SBV provincial branches: The SBV branches are requested to strengthen the security, fire prevention and fighting capabilities; ensure the safety of the assets, the offices and the vault; agree on the plans of cash collection and spendings during the Tet holidays with the local credit institutions to ensure stable, safe and smooth operations of the ATM system; strengthen the management and supervision over the credit institutions, the foreign banks’ branches, the people's credit funds in their respective province, ensuring the liquidity and safety of the system; coordinate with the functional agencies to strengthen the inspection and promptly handle with any violations related to the buying and selling of foreign currencies, gold and money exchange services in contravention of the laws.

In addition, the Directors of the SBV provincial branches should personally direct and take responsibility before the SBV Governor for the cash supply to the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches, and the State Treasury in their respective province, ensuring smooth money circulation; absolutely not allow any cash shortage, postponement of cash spending to happen, affecting the money circulation.

The SBV branches are also requested to strengthen the direction, inspection and supervision of the credit institutions and the foreign banks’ branches in their respective province in order to: (i) improve the service quality; monitor the fund balances and receive funds in a timely manner; ensure the ATMs' safe and smooth operations; (ii) proactively and timely address any situation of big cash demands, focusing on the time close to the Tet holiday; arrange staff members on duty to promptly handle with any arising situation during Tet and proactively prepare monetary and banking response options to timely handle with any arising issues.

The credit institutions and the foreign banks’ branches: The credit institutions and the foreign banks' branches are requested to proactively develop appropriate cash plans, ensuring timely responses to customers' cash demands in terms of both quantities and face values; closely monitor the progress of cash receipts and payments of their respective branches in the system in order to timely handle with any arising issue, ensuring to meet in full the cash demands before, during and after Tet.

Organize payment services to facilitate production, business, import and export operations; proactively formulate and implement plans to effectively serve the businesses in international payment activities, especially the foreign-invested and import-export enterprises, not allowing any delay in enterprises' payments during the Tet holidays; ensure stable, safe and effective electronic payment services and bank card payment services to meet the payment needs during Tet.

Make sure that all officers and employees understand and strictly comply with the professional procedures and the internal regulations; enhance the staff's morale and conscience of service to the businesses and the people; increase the alertness against criminal methods and tricks, as well as coordinate with the relevant authorities to prevent any threats to the ATM operations; strictly abide by the regulations on ensuring the security and safety of the banking operations; strengthen the safety and security of the head offices, transaction offices, especially in the remote areas; arrange staff members on duty to promptly handle with any arising issues during Tet.

All affiliate units in the banking sector are requested to implement the following tasks: Continue to implement effectively the directions of the SBV; strengthen the direction, monitoring and supervision of the card payment service providers in their respective areas as stipulated in Document No. 9027/NHNN-TT dated December 11, 2020 on payment services during the year-end settlement period in 2020 and the Lunar New Year 2021; implement seriously Directive No. 07/CT-NHNN dated October 11, 2017 on strengthening the prevention and combating against law violations in the monetary and banking sector, ensuring the security and safety of banking operations, contributing to the monetary and financial stability; make sure that the relevant units understand fully and coordinate effectively to implement the directions of the Steering Committee 138/CP as stipulated in Document No. 4225/BCD dated December 7, 2020 on the coordination to implement the tasks during the peak period against criminals, and the other relevant directions of the People's Committees of their respective provinces and cities (if any).

Strictly comply with the instructions of the Party's Secretariat, the Prime Minister and the SBV Governor on enhancing measures to ensure happy, healthy, safe and effective celebrations of the 2021 Lunar New Year; ensure practical, safe and economical cultural and Tet-enjoying activities in accordance with the traditions and practices, in association with the strict implementation of the regulations on COVID-19 control, ensuring the security, order and safety of banking operations.

Visits and giving Tet gifts to the leaders of the agencies and the units at all levels are strictly prohibited; practicing thrift and fighting wastefulness; not utilizing the State budget, public vehicles and assets for going to festivals, or to attend to any personal needs during the holidays.

Make sure that all of their officers and staff fully understand and can immediately re-start working effectively after the Tet holiday; striving to successfully accomplish the objectives and tasks right after Tet, creating a strong momentum for the extraordinary accomplishment of the tasks of the banking sector in 2021.

VA