Is depositing money online safe?

The former branch manager of OceanBank in Hai Phong recently disappeared along with 17 savings passbooks worth over 400 billion VND, causing widespread concern among depositors.

Recently, there have been several cases of customers depositing savings despite having already received their cards.savewith all the required information, but whenWhen they went to settle the account, they discovered the card was suspected to be counterfeit, and the money hadn't been credited to the system.

The latest incident causing public "confusion" isThe former director of OceanBank's Hai Phong branch and two subordinates have disappeared with 17 savings accounts worth over 400 billion VND. The owners of these 17 accounts stated that they opened the accounts five years ago (with interest paid at the end of the term) but recently discovered that the savings passbooks were allegedly counterfeit, and the money had not been deposited into OceanBank's system.

This has caused many people to worry about depositing money into banks, especially through online savings accounts.When the depositor doesn't have any physical documentation (such as a savings passbook) like with traditional methods, how secure is it?

Many banks are stepping up their online savings deposit services. Photo: PV.

Explaining this, a leader of Saigon Thuong Tin Bank (Sacombank) stated that online savings deposits are quite safe because the transaction order is executed by the customer themselves, and bank employees cannot interfere. Furthermore, when making online deposits, the bank's system uses multi-layer authentication and sends authentication information to the customer via text message, email, etc. This authentication information cannot be forged and is not manipulated by human intervention; it is automatically generated by the system and recorded in the system's logs.

However, to ensure absolute safety when conducting online transactions, he advises customers to carefully safeguard their mobile phones, emails, and login passwords. In case of phone loss or information leakage, they should change their passwords or report it to the bank immediately.

Dr. Bui Quang Tin from the Banking University also believes that there is nothing to worry about in terms of legality. Because theseCustomer verification information sent via text message, email, etc., is considered valid electronic documentation and has legal value for online money transfers.

However, according to Mr. Tin, the main concern with this type of transaction is hacking. Therefore, when making online savings deposits...Customers should avoid accessing unfamiliar and insecure websites on their computers or phones.

In addition, depositors should regularly run antivirus scans from reputable software companies and always update to the latest version; they should also promptly receive notifications from their bank regarding risk warnings in online transactions…

Online savings services have been offered by banks since 2009 to serve busy individuals. ACB's leadership shared that the advantage of this online savings method is that users only need to perform simple operations via the bank's Internet Banking at any time of day to transfer idle funds accumulated from their current account to their savings account.

"Customers can close their savings accounts at any time they need cash, even on weekends and holidays," he said.Currently, this channel is receiving considerable attention from banks and attracting a large number of interested customers. According to a representative from Sacombank, since the bank launched its online savings product, the number of new accounts opened has increased significantly, rising 5-6 times each year.

He further analyzed that this service is not only convenient for customers but also helps banks access and serve customers 24/7, without the time restrictions of in-person transactions. Banks also save on personnel costs, rent, and maximize the efficiency of their invested modern technology infrastructure... This is why customers receive higher interest rates when depositing savings online compared to depositing at the counter.

Therefore, many banks are setting goals to boost online deposit attraction. Specifically, some banks such as VPBank and Techcombank aim to soon increase the proportion of online deposits to 30% of the bank's total deposits.

According to VNE