Mobile banking applications have played an important role in financial inclusion journey thank to the development of digital transformation process among banks. (Photo courtesy of Mambu) The information was released from a study of 2,000 global consumersreleased on May 27 by Mambu, a banking and financial services platform.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s statistics in 2020, 70 percentof adults in the country had a bank account, but nearly half of them lackedaccess to credit. According to Agribank, more than 70 percent of the populationis concentrated in rural areas, but access to modern banking services in theseareas is very limited.
On the other hand, in recent years, thanks to the development of digitaltechnology and the digital transformation process among banks, mobile bankingapplications have played an important role in financial inclusion. Banks havebeen able to reach customers in places without a physical bank headquarters orbranches.
Cashless transactions in Vietnam increased by 75.2 percent in the firstnine months of 2020, compared to the same period the year before. Onlineshopping grew exponentially, ranking third in Southeast Asia in terms of visitsto online shopping apps in the second quarter of 2020.
The Government's efforts to enhance financial services include aimingfor 80 percent of adults to have a bank account by 2025 and piloting a mobilemoney programme for two years from 2021.
The above factors encourage people to learn and use financial serviceswhile promoting digital transformation among banks and credit institutions.Statistics from the SBV show that 94 percent of banks in Vietnam have gonedigital or are planning to do so.
As well as banks, fintechs and telecoms firms are involved in digitalbanking in Vietnam. Instead of competing with each other, there’s increasingcollaboration between technology companies and credit institutions.
New technology solutions are changing the financial service landscape inVietnam, include new forms of online payment such as e-wallets, QR codes,digital banking products incorporating AI, data analytics and cloud computing.
Pham Quang Minh, General Manager of Mambu Vietnam said: “Technologysolutions that leverage true software as services (SaaS), cloud-native andAPI-first platform allow banks to compose any desired product and service byassembling best-of-breed components and independently connecting them together.The 'composable banking' approach will help banks digitise quickly, flexibly,economically, provides a 'customer-centric' experience, and meet the constantlychanging needs of customers in the 4.0 era."
On a global scale, the report revealed both banked and unbankedindividuals feel underserved, with 56 percent of banked customers claimingthere are other services they should be able to access.
“With more than 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally, the data that’susually reported points us to emerging markets and geographical barriers toaccess; however, the gap in accessibility on a global level should not beignored,” said Elliott Limb, Mambu’s Chief Customer Officer.
“Personalisation is going to be key for banks if they want to avoidbeing sidelined by new entrants that give more inclusivity and access. Banksneed to be using the technology available to understand their consumers’ habitsand in turn, anticipate their needs, with hyper-personalised recommendationsand services”./.
VNA
