Banking industry needs data-driven, customer-centric breakthrough: experts

To enable breakthroughs in digital transformation in the near future, the banking industry must continue expanding capacity as well as consider data as a strategic asset and place customers at the centre, experts and officials said at an event on Thursday.

Addressing the annual banking industry summit and exhibition Smart Banking 2025, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association (VBA) Nguyễn Quốc Hùng said: “We have recently witnessed the strong development of the digital financial services ecosystem.

"Cashless payments are expanding; digital banking is becoming the main channel; electronic identification and authentication are improving; cooperation between banks, fintech and digital platforms is growing; and capacity of data analysis, application of AI and machine learning are being promoted in credit appraisal, risk management, fraud prevention, operation optimisation and multi-channel customer care.”

According to Hùng, most basic banking services have thus far been digitised on electronic channels. Many banks have recorded over 95 per cent of transactions conducted via digital channels instead of at traditional counters. Nearly 87 per cent of Vietnamese adults have bank accounts, and the country’s value of non-cash payments is 25 times higher than GDP.

In the first seven months of 2025, non-cash transactions via QR codes increased by 66.7 per cent in quantity and 159 per cent in value compared to the same period in 2024.

Việt Nam has also pioneered cross-border retail payment connections via QR codes with Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, aiming to expand in the Asian region.

However, Hùng said that in order to achieve real breakthroughs in 2025 and beyond, several problems must be solved simultaneously. These include standardising and cleaning data for the whole banking system, building a unified data system and enhancing the ability to link controlled data between banks and identity platforms, the population database, businesses, e-commerce, insurance and telecommunications.

According to the VBA general secretary, a harmonious combination of strategy, data, technology and people will help the Vietnamese banking industry target a sustainable digital banking ecosystem. This includes innovation as well as safety, personalisation along with privacy protection and open connection balanced with tight control of systemic risks.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Phạm Tiến Dũng also noted: “Data and customers are independent, but in fact, they are not separate. Without customers, there is no data; and data, if not used, has no value. This is the core story of the banking industry.”

According to Dũng, the SBV is one of a few agencies that have issued a system of circulars to regulate the entire process of collecting, synthesising and analysing data.

Currently, the banking industry has deeply integrated with the National Population Database. The SBV is also the first unit to issue a circular on Open API, allowing relevant parties to connect banking industry data.

The Deputy Governor emphasised that data is a foundation and a valuable resource for the digital transformation in banking. However, customers are at the centre. In the current digital age, the banking industry must therefore meet three criteria: creating smart applications for customers; effectively supporting customers; and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of customers.

“To truly put customers at the centre, the banking industry must provide truly good, smart and easy-to-use applications, while protecting customers quickly, ensuring both safety and convenience,” Dũng said.

According to Dũng, the banking system records over 30 million transactions with a total value of about VNĐ900 trillion (US$34 billion) in inter-branch transactions daily. With such a huge number of transactions, ensuring security and maintaining safe and continuous operations is an important issue of concern for the banking industry.

At the event, Director of TPBank’s Digital Banking Centre Trần Hoài Nam said that with high frequency of daily use, banking applications are the ideal platform to become super apps, which not only provide financial services but also many other essential areas in customers' lives.

Under the auspices of the SBV, Smart Banking 2025 was organised by the VBA in coordination with IEC Group, accompanied by the National Data Association and the Cyber ​​Security Association.