86 million deactivate bank account
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
Vietnam’s central bank and commercial banks began a mass compliance purge tied to new biometric and digital ID rules in early September 2025, resulting in authorities and many outlets reporting that roughly 86 million bank accounts were deactivated, deleted or otherwise flagged as non‑compliant — a figure derived from a system that counted about 200 million accounts and found roughly 113 million verified while leaving ~86 million inactive or unverified [1] [2]. Reporting converges on three facts: an SBV‑led “cleanup” tied to Project 06 and biometric KYC, a September 1 enforcement date for mass deactivations, and disputed human impacts and political implications [3] [4].
1. What actually happened: a large compliance cleanup, not a mysterious banking blackout
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced a program to remove or deactivate accounts that had not completed biometric authentication or had long been frozen, characterizing the action as a system “cleanup” rather than an arbitrary seizure; the SBV’s figures put active, verified personal accounts at about 113 million out of roughly 200 million, leaving more than 86 million accounts inactive or unverified and therefore slated for deletion starting September 1, 2025 [1] [5]. Multiple commercial and independent outlets report banks “began removing” or “deleting” over 86 million accounts as biometric rules were enforced, and the policy followed regulatory guidance such as Circular 17 expanding biometric KYC and transaction‑level biometric triggers [2] [4].
2. Why the number looks so large: duplicate, dormant and fraud‑linked accounts
Vietnam’s banking system had amassed nearly two accounts per resident — about 200 million accounts in a country of roughly 101 million people — which regulators said included many inactive, duplicate, forgotten or maliciously opened accounts used in scams and laundering; the SBV and compliance analyses justify the purge as a way to cut fraud, citing past AI‑assisted schemes and other losses as part of the rationale for strict biometric verification [3] [6]. The official framing is that roughly 113 million personal accounts met the new biometric standards while the remainder were non‑compliant and therefore subject to deactivation or deletion [1] [7].
3. How biometric rules were enforced and what “deactivated” meant in practice
Regulations required facial or fingerprint authentication for account access and higher‑value transfers, with banks notifying users and imposing biometric checks for transfers above set thresholds; reports describe banks flagging, freezing or deleting unverified accounts beginning September 1, 2025, though terminology varies across sources — some call it deletion or permanent termination while others emphasize deactivation or temporary freeze tied to non‑compliance [4] [2] [1]. That semantic uncertainty is important: “deleted” implies irreversible loss, while “deactivated/frozen” can be remedied if customers complete verification, a distinction various outlets treat differently [5] [8].
4. Human and political consequences: access, remoteness, and digital ID politics
Journalistic and crypto commentary emphasize concrete hardship for people unable to complete biometric steps — older, rural or overseas customers who lack easy access to in‑person verification or digital tools — and political concerns about consolidating financial control via national digital ID (Project 06) and mandatory biometrics; critics warn such mass enforcement can lock citizens out of funds or require burdensome travel to resolve issues [9] [8] [7]. Proponents and regulators frame the action as anti‑fraud, pointing to a nearly 60% reported drop in certain fraud measures under Project 06 proponents’ summaries, though such improvement claims are reported by sources with varying levels of independence [9] [3].
5. What’s settled, what’s disputed, and reporting limits
What is well‑supported in the reporting: regulators implemented biometric KYC rules tied to Project 06, enforcement began around September 1, 2025, and official counts place around 86 million accounts as unverified or slated for deletion out of roughly 200 million total [1] [3] [2]. What remains disputed or imprecise in public reporting: the exact legal status of every affected account (permanently deleted vs. temporarily frozen), the number of active customers actually deprived of usable funds, and independent verification of the SBV’s claimed fraud reductions; available sources vary in tone and in whether they emphasize state rationale, human hardship, or geopolitical implications [4] [5] [8].