Context: Opening a personal account by eKYC is now routine, but for corporate customers the problem is far harder: the bank must verify a legal entity, its legal representative and its authorised persons — three layers where forgery at any layer becomes money-laundering risk.
Reading the Framework from the Source Texts
Electronic customer identification in banking operates on the Anti-Money Laundering Law 14/2022/QH15 (customer-identification duties), State Bank rules on opening and using payment accounts, and the national population database used for biometric matching. For individuals, eKYC matches the face against the chip-based ID card photo and the population database. For companies, the process must add: verification of the enterprise registration certificate and legal status, biometric verification of the legal representative as an individual, and setting of mandate scope for the chief accountant or transacting staff — each layer leaving its own audit trail.
Since 1 July 2024, the State Bank’s Decision 2345/QD-NHNN applies biometric authentication to certain high-value online transactions and first-time service activations, showing the regulatory direction: remote account opening is encouraged, but high-risk touchpoints still require a biometric layer. For FDI companies, the practical difficulty is a foreign legal representative with no data in Vietnam’s population database — banks then combine passport and visa verification with in-person or partner-bank confirmation, and may cap initial transaction limits until supplementary verification is complete.
Practical Points Commonly Overlooked
Corporate forgery risk usually lies not in a fake registration certificate but in fake mandates after account opening: criminals change the authorised transactor to drain funds. Companies should ask the bank to lock purely online mandate changes, forcing any change of transacting persons to be confirmed by the legal representative through a pre-registered channel.
Concrete Steps for Those Involved
The steps below turn the analysis above into concrete work:
- First, test your own situation against this ground: Electronic customer identification in banking operates on the Anti-Money Laundering Law 14/2022/QH15 (customer-identification duties), State Bank rules on opening and using payment accounts, and the national population database used for biometric matching.
- Record the application point specific to this case instead of copying conclusions from another case: For companies, the process must add: verification of the enterprise registration certificate and legal status, biometric verification of the legal representative as an individual, and setting of mandate scope for the chief accountant or transacting staff — each layer leaving its own audit trail.
- Prepare the evidence and file relating to the following point before dealing with authorities or partners: Corporate forgery risk usually lies not in a fake registration certificate but in fake mandates after account opening: criminals change the authorised transactor to drain funds. Companies should ask the bank to lock purely online mandate changes, forcing any change of transacting persons to be confirmed by the legal representative through a pre-registered channel.
- Answer the question clients ask most directly with this conclusion, and keep it on file: Many banks now allow remote corporate account initiation, provided the entity, the biometric-verified legal representative and the mandate scope can all be authenticated. Some banks still require in-person completion for full limits — ask about conditions before choosing a bank for a new company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a company open a bank account online?
Many banks now allow remote corporate account initiation, provided the entity, the biometric-verified legal representative and the mandate scope can all be authenticated. Some banks still require in-person completion for full limits — ask about conditions before choosing a bank for a new company.
How is the legal representative verified?
The representative is verified as an individual (biometric matching against ID and the population database) plus verification of representative status through the enterprise registration and charter. A foreign representative usually goes through passport verification and supplementary confirmation, having no Vietnamese population data.
What is the risk of corporate impersonation?
The biggest risks are forged mandates after opening to change transactors and drain funds, and shell companies opening accounts for laundering. Preventive measures include locking online mandate changes, abnormal-transaction alerts and periodic corporate-information review under AML Law 14/2022/QH15.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council