Vietnam has big digitalization and biometrics ambitions for 2026

Vietnam’s government is pushing hard for digital transformation, seeing digital identity and governance as central to its plans and has set its sights on a unified digital economy, sensing value in the copious amounts of data digital systems produce.

The country is estimated to have around 101 million people and its economy is one of the most dynamic in Southeast Asia — a region that is one of the most rapidly developing in the world. Vietnam has seen the steady buildout of ICT infrastructure and a fast‑growing mobile subscriber base. From 2022 to 2024, the digital economy gained strong momentum as broadband coverage deepened and 5G deployment advanced.

Vietnam wants all citizens served on digital platforms and has made 2026 the official target. The government wants inclusive development and it’s targeting double-digit GDP growth from 2026 to 2030. There are moves to position the national digital ID app VNeID as a central gateway to a data-driven economy.

The Ministry of Public Security is looking to transform VNeID from a digital ID and verification tool into a national digital super‑platform. In this vision, VNeID would become a single access point for interactions between citizen, business and state. It would serve as the central hub of Vietnam’s digital ecosystem and a foundational layer of national digital public infrastructure (DPI).

It’s ambitious but not unprecedented. In China, Tencent’s WeChat is ubiquitous. The super app does messaging, file sharing, video calls, payments with WeChat Pay, travel bookings and mini programs, among much else. Alibaba’s Alipay is also common, as embedded in daily life as smartphones have become. While WeChat and Alipay are not national digital IDs per se, they have become intimately tied to Chinese people’s digital identities in a broader sense.

Biometrics vendors eye the market

Next Biometrics received a substantial production order for its fingerprint sensors from a system integrator in Vietnam, Biometric Update reported a few weeks ago.

The sensors will be integrated into a biometric authentication system for digital payments, the company said in the announcement. It will also be deployed for other digital Know Your Customer (eKYC) transactions.

Next Biometrics’ Joshua Chiu observed the pace of change. “The Vietnamese ID market is primed for rapid growth as government policy continues to drive demand for trusted authentication and KYC processes,” the senior vice president, and head of sales for Southeast Asia, said.

In November, BIO‑key announced a strategic partnership with SAVIS Group, a Vietnamese company known for its work in digital signing, identity verification, electronic authentication and cybersecurity. The agreement positions both companies to tap into Vietnam’s rapidly expanding digital transformation and cybersecurity landscape.

The partnership brings together BIO‑key’s portfolio of IAM and biometric authentication solutions with SAVIS Group’s experience in digital trust infrastructure and enterprise technology deployment. The two firms will jointly deliver scalable identity management to government bodies, enterprises and institutions across Vietnam.

Alex Rocha, managing director of BIO-key International, commented on the country’s appeal. “Our SAVIS Group partnership is an exciting opportunity to combine our advanced IAM and biometric technologies with strong local expertise and a trusted presence in one of the most attractive Asian markets.”

In September, HID Global spoke on the country’s strategic importance for the company’s regional expansion. The market is seeing rising demand for secure, privacy-first identity solutions across sectors.

“Vietnam was chosen because of its rapid growth across sectors like transportation, real estate and manufacturing where many global brands have set up operations,” Christian Marcos, HID’s regional sales manager for the Philippines and Vietnam, told Vietnam Investment Review.

HID’s parent company, Assa Abloy, runs two factories in Vietnam while the country is emerging as a hub for innovation, Marcos said, pointing out VinFast’s EV taxi service and government support for IT and engineering. “This dynamic environment makes Vietnam an ideal market for HID to introduce trusted identity and secure access solutions while meeting international security standards,” he explained.

At the Tech4Life 2025 exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, HID unveiled the Amico reader, designed for multifactor authentication using face biometrics, cards, mobile credentials, QR codes or PINs.

This doesn’t mean local companies are being complacent. Far from it. Cake Digital Bank became the first digital-only bank in Southeast Asia to pass iBeta’s test for detecting sophisticated face biometric presentation attacks under the ISO standard.

Vietnam’s Cake Digital Bank and its Cake by VPBank Face Authen — a face biometric and anti-spoofing solution — was found to be in compliance with a Level 2 test based on the ISO 30107-3 Biometric Presentation Attack Detection (PAD) Standard. Cake is one of only five banking, financial services and insurance organizations in Vietnam with liveness detection confirmed compliant with ISO 30107-3 for face biometrics to iBeta’s Level 2.

“Achieving the highest international ISO standard for facial biometrics with a solution developed entirely in-house by our Vietnamese engineering team is a remarkable milestone for Cake,” said Nguyễn Hữu Quang, CEO of Cake Digital Bank.

Developed in-house by Cake’s team of engineers, Cake Face Authen uses Passive Liveness Detection. Currently, more than 15 million people in Vietnam use Cake Face Authen and the technology aligns with stringent security requirements from the State Bank of Vietnam, which since July 2024 has mandated financial institutions to implement end-to-end biometric verification for digital transactions.

Biometrics shift into the everyday from transport to banking

Vietnam is rapidly integrating biometrics and digital identity into everyday life, rolling out identity‑based systems across public transport, air travel and banking.

The country’s capital, the northern city of Hanoi became the first city in Vietnam to deploy a metro system that integrates biometric identity verification with digital ID credentials and open‑loop payments (interoperable payment acceptance).

AI‑enabled cameras at fare gates perform biometric matching against digital ID data, allowing passengers to pass through without presenting physical documents. Hanoi Vice Chairman Truong Viet Dung said the open‑loop EMV system allows passengers to tap in using QR codes, bank cards, Apple Pay or e‑wallets. Priority groups can authenticate with their chip‑based ID cards or VNeID through the Hanoi Metro app.

In the air, Vietnam has begun requiring most air travellers to complete ticketing, check‑in, security screening and boarding through biometric verification linked to VNeID. Under a regulation in Prime Ministerial Directive No. 24 (issued September 13) passengers must log into the VNeID app with a level‑2 verified account before initiating online check-in.

In finance, Vietnam is making biometric verification mandatory for opening bank accounts and issuing payment cards from January 5, 2026, under a regulation issued by the State Bank of Vietnam aimed at tightening security in electronic transactions.

The requirement is part of Circular 45/2025/TT-NHNN, which amends existing rules on bank card activities and introduces some of the most sweeping identity verification measures the country has implemented in its financial sector. The rules require banks to conduct face‑to‑face identity checks and verify biometric data, such as facial information, before issuing cards to individual customers. The same requirement applies to the legal representatives of corporate clients.

Cards will only be activated for electronic transactions once biometric authentication has been completed. Banks may verify customers using biometric data stored in the chip‑based Citizen Identity Card, authentication via VNeID, or previously collected biometric data that matches official records.

Future potential opportunities

Visit Vietnam could be the country’s transition toward a fully digital tourism ecosystem. Developed with government backing and built in partnership with VNAT, the National Data Association, Sun Group and Visa, the platform combines a unified national data infrastructure with an AI‑powered travel assistant.

It gives authorities real‑time visibility into visitor flows and operational risks, while offering travelers a single interface for planning, booking and navigating their journeys. The shift reflects Vietnam’s broader digital transformation agenda and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s ambition to build a centralized, interoperable tourism database.

The platform’s design emphasizes identity‑linked services, seamless transactions and real‑time movement data. As Visit Vietnam evolves the need for secure frictionless authentication across bookings, payments and mobility services is likely to grow. The government is pushing for “accurate, sufficient, clean, live, unified, and shared” data across the sector, reports the state-owned People’s Army Newspaper.

Across sectors, cybersecurity, anti-fraud and biometrics will be needed, particularly as Southeast Asia is a hotspot for scams and fraud. Vietnam’s largest mobile network operators have signed up to fight online fraud and enhance identity verification and security through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative.

Earlier this year, at the GSMA Digital Summit Hanoi government and industry leaders warned that the country’s digital growth is being threatened by scams. “Vietnam stands at a defining moment in its digital journey,” said GSMA’s head of Asia Pacific Julian Gorman.

It is relatively early days and the Vietnamese market, like those of its fellow ASEAN members like Indonesia and Thailand, is fast-moving and developing quickly. In 2026, Biometric Update will be closely following developments, taking the temperature, and reporting the latest moves across the country and region.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital economy  |  digital government  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  financial services  |  government services  |  Project 06  |  VNeID