On February 10, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) organized a Training Seminar on Circular No. 20/2022/TT-NHNN providing guidance for the one-way money transfers from Vietnam to overseas, and the payment or the money transfers for other current transactions by residents being institutions or individuals (Circular No. 20).
SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha speaks at the Seminar.
The Seminar, which was held in hybrid format, was attended by SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha, together with representatives from the SBV entities, the SBV provincial and municipal branches, the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches licensed with foreign exchange operations.
In his opening speech, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha shared that, in recent years, the legal frameworks on foreign exchange management for the payment activities and the money transfers to overseas for the current transactions, the one-way money transfers have seen a lot of innovations, together with the process of international economic integration, while still ensuring compliance with the requirements of the international organizations of which Vietnam is a member, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
With an important role in providing payment services for the economy, the banking system has fully met the legal money transfer needs of organizations and individuals on the basis of compliance with the principle of liberalization of current transactions as stated at the 2005 Ordinance on Foreign Exchange of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee (as amended and supplemented in 2013), Decree No. 70/2014/ND-CP of the Government providing details for the implementation of a number of Articles of the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange, the Ordinance amending and supplementing a number of Articles of the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange, and other relevant guiding documents of the SBV, thereby ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals; strictly implementing the provisions of the law on payment and money transfers to overseas.
Overview of the Seminar.
The practical implementation of the above provisions has shown that, although the regulations have been relatively complete, they are scattered in various legal documents, making it difficult to refer to and easy to cause inconsistency in the implementation of the banking system, as well as organizations and individuals in the economy, causing difficulties for the management. Besides, some substances need detailed guidance to catch up with the changes of the world economy and the developments of the domestic market.
On December 30, 2022, the SBV Governor issued Circular No. 20 in order to ensure the consistency and integration of the regulations related to the one-way money transfers from Vietnam to overseas by institutions or individuals, and the money transfers for other current transactions.
This Seminar was organized with the objective of ensuring the effective implementation of Circular No. 20; disseminating and widely communicating on the provisions of Circular No. 20 to the entire banking system, the SBV entities, the SBV provincial and municipal branches; ensuring that these units will implement the Circular in an effective way, with full compliance with the provisions of the Circular.
Mr. Dao Xuan Tuan, Director General of the Foreign Exchange Management Department, speaks at the Seminar.
At the Seminar, SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha requested the commercial banks to urgently review, update, supplement and improve their internal regulations on the professional processes related to payment activities and money transfers to overseas. Also, the banks need to prepare thoroughly for the implementation by all of the units in their systems, ensuring smooth and effective implementation. Mr. Pham Thanh Ha went on to request the Banking Supervision Agency, the inspection and supervision units of the SBV provincial and municipal branches to study thoroughly the provisions of Circular No. 20 in order to effectively carry out the inspection, monitoring and supervision of cross-border payment activities and money transfers to overseas. The Foreign Exchange Management Department was also requested to closely monitor the banks’ implementation, and to provide prompt guidance, instructions and answers to any questions, as well as to arrange for the smooth implementation of Circular No. 20, causing no obstacles for the market operations, while still ensuring the fulfillment of the management objectives of the Government.
Also at the Seminar, a representative from the Foreign Exchange Management Department made a detailed presentation on the provisions of Circular No. 20. Afterward, the participants provided feedbacks and discussed about the processes of making payments and transferring money to overseas. Mr. Dao Xuan Tuan, Director General of the Foreign Exchange Management Department, provided further guidance on the provisions of Circular 20 so that all commercial banks could have a common understanding about the implementation, ensuring that the payment and money transfers to overseas are carried out for the right purposes, under strict management, and in accordance with the provisions of law.
LK