On January 17, 2024, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued Official Note No. 01/CD-NHNN requesting the SBV entities, the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches, and the payment intermediary services providers to strengthen measures focusing on ensuring safe and sound banking operations during the 2024 Lunar New Year Holidays, focusing on the following:
First, concentrating resources on operating the National Interbank Electronic Payment System, the National Financial Switching and Electronic Clearing System, the payment systems of the credit institutions and the intermediary payment services providers, ensuring smooth, continuous and safe operations of these systems, meeting the increasing payment demands before and during the Tet Festivities; strengthening the measures to monitor the operations, and conduct technical solutions to ensure the security and safety of the payment systems and the security of customers’ data.
Second, arranging effectively the operations of regulating, circulating and supplying cash, meeting the cash demands of the whole economy in terms of both value and face value structure during the Tet Festivities; ensuring the vault security and safety, as well as the prevention of crimes in the monetary and banking sector; the credit institutions and the foreign bank branches are requested to implement effectively the provision of the forex services, the collection and exchange services to support the needs of foreign tourists; strengthening the coordination in the inspection to promptly detect and strictly handle with any violations in buying and selling foreign currencies and gold, as well as in exchanging money not in accordance with laws.
Third, closely monitor the developments in the global and domestic economic situations to operate the monetary policy tools, conduct credit measures in a proactive, flexible, timely, and synchronous manner, contributing to meeting the capital demands of the economy, supporting the macro-economic growth, controlling the inflation, maintaining the stability in the money and forex markets; managing the interest rates and the exchange rates in a flexible manner in accordance with the market situations, the macro-economic developments and the objectives of the monetary policy.
Fourth, strictly directing the leaders, officials, civil servants and employees to fully implement the regulations on the prevention of fire, explosion, natural disasters, and terrorist acts before the Tet Holidays; strengthening the protection of the security and safety of the head offices, transaction offices, assets, vaults and banking activities; arranging staff on duty to promptly handle with any arising situations during the Tet Festivities, ensuring smooth operations.
Fifth, practicing thrift and combating waste; not attending events at pagodas/temples or other festivals if not being assigned to; not participating in superstitious activities; not using the state budget, cars, or public assets for personal activities during the Tet Festivities, etc.
Sixth, the Directors of the SBV municipal and provincial branches must provide personal directions and shall be responsible for the provision of cash to the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches, and the State Treasury in their areas, ensuring smooth circulation of cash.
Seventh, the credit institutions and the foreign bank branches shall ensure to meet the credit demands for production and business; focusing credit on production and business activities, the priority sectors according to the Government's policies; closely monitor the cash receipts and expenditures in their systems to fully meet the customers' cash demands before, during and after the Tet Festivities; strengthen the measures of preventing risks in electronic payments, bank card payments and ATM operations, etc.
Eighth, Napas is requested to strictly implement the SBV’s instructions on payment activities; strictly monitor to promptly respond to any arising incidents and situations, ensure stable and smooth operations for 24/7 to support the payment needs of customers during the Tet Festivities.
Ninth, the payment intermediary services providers are requested to strictly implement the SBV’s instructions to ensure safe and sound payment operations; strictly monitor to promptly respond to any arising incidents and situations, ensure stable and smooth operations to support the payment needs of customers during the Tet Festivities, and to promptly report to the SBV on any arising incidents.
In addition, the Trade Union and Youth Union of the banking sector are also requested to take care of the policy families, the war invalids and officials in difficult situations; perform effectively the social protection work targeting the poor, the ethnic minorities, and the border guards during the Tet Festivities, etc.
Le Hang