The Retail Banking Forum takes place in Hanoi on December 6 (Photo: thanhnien.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The trend of cashless payment and digitalisation in personal banking services is generating major opportunities and challenges to banks, especially amid Industry 4.0, according to a 2017 report on banking services compiled by IDG Vietnam Co. Ltd.
The information was highlighted at the Retail Banking Forum in Hanoi on December 6. The forum on the future of retail banking and payment services in the Industry 4.0 era was part of a series of workshops and events on smart city building.
The report said e-banking is increasingly popular in Vietnam with the rate of e-banking users reaching 81 percent at present, compared to only 21 percent in 2015. Financial technology (fintech) solutions are also gaining greater preference due to their convenience and modern security solutions.
The trend of cashless payment and digitalisation in personal banking services is also opening up a market for IT firms in Vietnam to provide software products serving the finance-banking sector.
Ha Huy Tuan, Vice Chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission, said Industry 4.0 with the appearance of an array of breakthrough technologies like Internet of Things, robotic technologies, artificial intelligence, automation, cloud computing, and big data is strongly changing many sectors and fields.
In the service industry, many new business models have appeared such as Uber and Grab (transport), Traveloka and Airbnb (tourism, hotel room booking), Alibaba and Amazon (e-commerce), Atombank and Fidor bank (digital banks without branches), he noted.
These technologies will help change the economy in general and the finance-banking sector in particular, Tuan said, adding that customers tend to use more and more new digital technologies and have higher requirements for banking services.
Financial experts said there remain many shortcomings in e-banking solutions in Vietnam such as high transaction fees, frequent interface errors, and limited customer services.
At the forum, participants discussed and shared information about new models in financial activities, new banking solutions, and digital infrastructure for the financial system. They also looked into customer data management, financial management in the use of big data, the use of artificial intelligence to calculate banking products and customer segments, personal information security, and the development of retail banking services.-VNA
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