Hanoi, Dec. 4 -- Starting January 5, 2026, banks in Vietnam will be required to verify biometric information from customers when issuing new cards. The move follows the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)'s Circular 45/2025/TT-NHNN issued on November 19, 2025, which amends and supplements a number of articles in Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN on bank card activities. The new 16-article circular introduces several key changes related to card issuance and usage. The circular mandates that card issuers must conduct a face-to-face meeting and match the biometric data of individual customers or the legal representative of institutional customers with their identity documents. Crucially, cards can only be used for electronic transactions after the successful...