Vietnam’s major banks have moved to close a widespread workaround that allowed large interbank transfers to bypass standard processing rules, meaning customers sending 500 million dong (approximately $19,400) or more in a single transaction will no longer receive near-instant settlement.
Starting April 21, transactions at or above that threshold can no longer be automatically split into smaller amounts to qualify for the Napas 24/7 instant payment network. Instead, they must be routed through the conventional interbank system operated by the State Bank of Vietnam.
The change stems from Circular 40/2024 and its subsequent amendments, which prohibit the automatic order-splitting technique that many Vietnamese banks had quietly built into their digital platforms.
The workaround that is now banned
The Napas 24/7 network, which processes transfers around the clock including evenings and public holidays, has long capped each individual transaction below 500 million dong. To help customers move larger sums just as quickly, banks including Eximbank, VPBank, and TPBank had developed an “auto-split” feature: when a customer initiated a transfer of, say, two billion dong (roughly $77,500), the system would silently divide it into multiple sub-500-million transactions and fire them through the instant network simultaneously. Funds arrived within seconds regardless of the hour.
That convenience is now gone. All three banks have announced they will permanently discontinue the feature in compliance with the new regulation.
What changes for customers
Transfers of 500 million dong or more will now travel through the conventional interbank channel. Unlike the Napas instant network, that system operates on business hours. A transfer initiated during office hours will typically arrive within a few hours. One sent in the evening, at the end of the working day, or on a weekend or holiday will not be processed until the next business day, meaning a delay that could stretch up to 24 hours or beyond in some cases.
Customers who still need rapid settlement of large amounts have one remaining option: manually splitting the transaction themselves, initiating several separate transfers each below the 500-million-dong threshold, so that each leg qualifies individually for the instant network.
Why regulators tightened the rules
The auto-split technique, while convenient, effectively allowed very large sums to move outside the oversight mechanisms designed for high-value transfers. Routing those transactions through the standard interbank system gives regulators and banks greater visibility and control, reducing risk in the cashless payment infrastructure. The move is widely seen as part of a broader push by the State Bank of Vietnam to strengthen monitoring of large-value financial flows.
