The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will research and amend regulations on safety and security in online banking service provision to better protect customers, an SBV official said on July 4.

The number of new customers of commercial banks has increased dramatically in recent years thanks to their digital applications.

The MB Cambodia Bank, Public limited Company (MB Cambodia) officially launched its services on February 27 as a commercial bank wholly invested by Vietnam’s Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB).

Vietnam is a top market in adopting new technologies, in which 58% of digital consumers have used online banking solutions, e-wallets, money transfer applications, and digital banking.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the banking system plays the role as arteries of the economy while addressing a meeting with chairpersons and CEOs of commercial banks in Hanoi on October 16.

The Republic of Korea’s digital transformation policy and implications for Vietnam, Vietnam’s digital banking transformation policy, the importance of credit information system in digital transformation, the leap towards digitisation and the recent trend of digital banking and payments in Asia were discussed at a recent symposium in Hanoi.

Vietnam is among the world’s best performers in digital banking, with around 15 trillion VND in total poured into digital transformation, Le Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Payment Department, told a talk show on September 28.

Techcombank has received eight awards from the global payments company Visa for its achievements in 2021. These prestigious awards were presented last month.

Cybersecurity is one of the central issues in the digital transformation of the banking system.

“There is a heated race towards digital banking going on in Vietnam, with banking services having found their way into every corner of life."

Digital economy, including digital finance and digital banking, will be an effective solution to recover the economy of the world and Vietnam in particular, heard a seminar held by the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee on September 28.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only creates challenges for banks, but also pushes them to foster digital transformation to survive, experts have said.

Vietnam is among the regional countries that are seeing new digital bank models, experts have said.

Thanks to breakthroughs in technology, customers can now open online banking accounts anywhere, anytime with just a smartphone, utilising facial recognition technology - also known as eKYC (or “electronic know your customer”). Banks are now in a race to use eKYC to build their digital banking platforms

Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) of Vietnam is working with Backbase, a digital banking software provider based in the Netherlands, to put forth the Vietnamese bank’s digital transformation process on a secure, efficient and sustainable digital platform.

Promoting non-cash payment, digital banking, and green banking is the direction of the banking sector in the 2020-2025 tenure, State Bank Governor Le Minh Hung told a meeting in Hanoi on August 17.

“Vietnam needs to focus on restructuring the economy, promoting digitalisation and internationalisation following the COVID-19 pandemic because these are important to industrial development and sustainable development of the national economy and enterprises”, said an economic expert.

Mobile transactions in Vietnam are forecast to increase by 400 percent by 2025 in the Fintech and Digital Banking 2025 - Asia Pacific Report released by Backbase on May 11.

Vietnam is committed to opening door for foreign investors, especially in the field of services, according to the roadmap in signed bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements.

Cashless payment would not only increase the circulation of capital but also help boost the internet economy, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.