The State Bank of Vietnam (“SBV”) has recently informed that they will remove such threshold from a draft decree replacing Decree No. 101/2012/ND-CP on non-cash transactions.

The threshold was included in the draft by the SBV in November 2019 with the attempt to avoid manipulation by foreign investors, ensuring security and safety for banking and financial activities. However, fintech community expressed concern over the regulation, as foreign investors have not only made great contributions in terms of investment but also in technology and know-how. In addition, there are a number of big intermediary payment firms with foreign ownership of more than 49% (e.g. Di Dong Truc Tuyen JSC which is operating MoMo, VietUnion Online Services Corp. which is operating Payoo, etc.) and the change in the rate could affect their activities.

According to the SBV, the threshold was removed from the draft decree after the SBV consulted with experts and the relevant agencies, studied Vietnam’s international commitments and analyzed the possible impact of the regulation. The final draft decree is scheduled to submit for the Prime Minister’s promulgation in June 2020.