Vietnam lacks an automated national clearing system and the new regulations only allow for checks to be issued for payment between branches of the same bank or at branches of banks participating in a local clearing system within any one province or city. In addition, individuals will only be able to purchase one book of 10 checks at any one time, and companies and other entities will only be allowed three 10-check books. The decree, signed by Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet last May, was followed by a detailed circular guiding implementation in December, but bankers said the details are only now becoming clear. They state the exact size for individual checks and said they could only be printed at the State Bank's print works, which has no capacity for security printing common in other countries. The first letter of the sum in words must be capitalized, there must be no blank spaces, and there must be no mistakes in filling out the check.
Every check has to show three addresses.
Foreign bankers in Hanoi met last week to discuss the new check regulations, and most were dismayed and said the decision should be deferred pending a rethink. Banks are not going to be able to guarantee that they will be able to honor the check even if the funds are in the account because there are so many different rules to stick by and if any of those are broken, in theory, they should dishonor the check. If they don't then they may get fined. No one at the State Bank of Vietnam was available for comment on Wednesday. Another decree issued by the government on February 24 outlined administrative penalties for banking violations.