The banking sector is making breakthroughs alongside the nation in the new era.

Decision No. 1364/QD-NHNN, issued on March 5, 2025, implementing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, and the Government's Action Program to implement Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW (Resolution No. 03/NQ-CP), is a call from the Governor to the entire banking sector to continue making breakthroughs to empower the economy to "stretch itself" in the new era.

“The Standing Committee and the Leadership Board of the State Bank of Vietnam are very aware that the development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are fundamental and core elements for promoting high economic growth in the coming period. Therefore, they have implemented many solutions and are one of the ministries and sectors that the Government has evaluated and recognized for their results in implementing digital transformation and promoting innovation.”

Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Hong

Playing a pioneering role

With 17,478 initiatives registered in the "1 Million Initiatives - Overcoming Difficulties, Innovating, and Determination to Win Against the Covid-19 Pandemic" program, the banking sector not only achieved 106% of its assigned plan targets but was also rated among the top in terms of quality by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor . The initiatives participating in the program have yielded practical results, contributing to production and business performance, and generating billions of dong in benefits for the units, the system, and the sector.

The achievements in science , technology, innovation, and digital transformation in the banking sector are also clearly demonstrated through the implementation of Resolution 18-NQ/TW. Although the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has unique characteristics compared to other agencies, such as having multiple payment connection systems, the operation of 15 regional SBV branches on March 1, 2025, instead of the previous 63 provincial branches, has ensured smooth system operation and has not affected transactions for businesses and individuals.

These are just a few glimpses into the development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation in the banking sector after many years of pioneering implementation. From setting specific criteria and quantifications in the Vietnam Banking Sector Development Strategies to 2025, with orientations to 2030, administrative reform plans, digital transformation plans, and green transformation plans, these goals have been further concretized and flexibly adjusted in annual plans, in line with the guidance and direction of the Party and Government, and the progress of the economy.

Furthermore, in these strategies and plans, the development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation is not just a matter for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) alone, but is implemented across the entire banking sector. The overarching principle in implementation is "putting people and businesses at the center and guiding digital transformation and administrative reform in the banking sector; using customer experience as the benchmark." As a result, the SBV consistently ranks quite highly among ministries and sectors in the index of creating institutions for digital transformation.

In particular, the banking sector is not acting alone but is becoming a driving force supporting ministries, sectors, and the economy in modernization, digital transformation, enhancing national competitiveness, and international economic integration. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) closely coordinates with and utilizes the National Population Database for its operations and those of commercial banks, promoting digital transformation and boosting cashless payments.

In order to connect and serve socio-economic development, the State Bank of Vietnam has directed credit institutions and payment intermediaries to implement the Plan for the deployment of Project 06 of the banking sector.

The achievement of being in the top 3 of the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR Index) for ministries and sectors for 10 consecutive years, including ranking first for 7 years, is a vivid testament to the achievements in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation of the State Bank of Vietnam in particular and the banking industry in general.

A breakthrough of breakthroughs

Decision No. 1364/QD-NHNN represents a "breakthrough of breakthroughs" in the continuous development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation within the banking sector. The decision institutionalizes and fully implements the viewpoints, objectives, and tasks assigned to the banking sector in Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 03/NQ-CP. Specifically, Governor Nguyen Thi Hong of the State Bank of Vietnam has outlined concrete tasks for each unit within the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, and payment intermediaries to organize and implement the goal of leveraging science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation to drive the banking sector's rapid, sustainable, and safe development, contributing to the country's breakthrough development and prosperity in the new era.

In order to successfully implement the assigned tasks of the banking sector, the Governor directed credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, and payment intermediaries to ensure the achievement of targets by 2030.

The goal of raising awareness and fostering new thinking within the industry will be implemented through the development of programs and plans to launch a movement in digital learning, aiming to create a regular "digital learning" movement...

The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam also directed functional units to update the new contents of Resolution 57-NQTW into the strategies and plans of the banking sector; to build the e-government architecture of the State Bank of Vietnam according to the Vietnam e-Government Architecture Framework version 3.0 for the period 2026-2030, and the Plan for implementing the Government's action program in the banking sector.

In particular, imbued with the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW and the directives of General Secretary To Lam, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong instructed units within the State Bank of Vietnam to “urgently and decisively complete the institutional framework; eliminate all ideas, concepts, and barriers hindering development.” This includes reviewing relevant regulations issued by the State Bank of Vietnam to promptly remove bottlenecks serving the development of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation in the banking sector. Simultaneously, it involves building and perfecting legal regulations and related regulations issued by the State Bank of Vietnam to ensure a legal framework for banking operations in the digital environment; and promptly developing plans to reduce the number of required documents once data is digitized.

Infrastructure for science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation in the banking sector will be strengthened and improved in the coming period. This includes developing a Decree regulating the controlled testing mechanism in the banking sector; deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in the document management and archiving system; and replacing the reporting system with Big Data technology to serve the management and policy decision-making of the sector. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) aims to research and organize the application of AI based on big data to provide personalized services and enhance customer experience; develop a national database project on banking customers and a shared database project for the banking sector; implement the SBV's digital transformation project, and deploy core banking utilities to ensure connectivity with Project 06.

Leveraging the combined strength of the entire banking sector for the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam directed credit institutions and branches of foreign banks to make breakthroughs and innovations in their operations. This includes promoting electronic lending towards automating the entire process to shorten loan processing times; applying data from the national database in customer assessment and accelerating the deployment of Open Banking and Open APIs to create more innovative products and services to meet the increasingly high demands of customers; strengthening the application of cloud computing, AI, Big Data, and Blockchain technologies on cloud platforms; and especially researching and deploying a modern digital core banking platform that allows banks to operate faster, smarter, and in a cost-effective manner, easily scalable in scale and product offerings.

These breakthroughs form the foundation for building an effective and efficient State Bank of Vietnam, and a modern, self-reliant system of credit institutions, serving as a basis for promoting the national economy to develop into a prosperous and powerful nation in the new era - the era of national progress.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/nganh-ngan-hang-dot-pha-cung-dat-nuoc-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-162090.html