Creating a stepping stone for digital financial inclusion to break through

A transformation in digital financial services in Vietnam

Speaking at the Conference, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association emphasized that the strong development of technology is fundamentally changing the financial sector, creating diverse digital products and services, while expanding accessibility for people and businesses globally, including Vietnam.

Tạo bước đệm để tài chính toàn diện số bứt phá

Secretary General of the Banking Association, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, emphasized that technology is shaping the new face of digital services.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, financial services in Vietnam have had remarkable changes in many aspects: modern core banking system; strong development of digital banking with more than 95% of customer transactions at some major banks conducted on digital channels; e-wallet ecosystem with more than 40 million active users; QR payment is interconnected nationwide and has connected across borders with Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and soon China and South Korea.

The proportion of digital transactions currently accounts for more than 70% of total retail transactions at many credit institutions, helping to reduce operating costs by 20-30% compared to traditional channels. More than 70% of adults aged 15 and over have financial accounts and 62% of them use digital payment services, thanks to the Internet coverage rate reaching about 80% of the population.

According to the State Bank, in the first 9 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, non-cash payment transactions increased by 43.32% in quantity and 24.23% in value; ATM transactions continued to decrease by 16.77% in quantity and 5.74% in value. There are currently 53 licensed payment intermediary organizations, of which 49 organizations provide e-wallets. The total number of accounts registered and using Mobile-Money services is more than 10.89 million accounts. Of which, the number of customer accounts registered and using the service in rural, mountainous, remote, border and island areas is about 7.5 million accounts (accounting for about 70% of the total number of accounts registered and using the service).

Along with that, many banks have applied technologies such as AI/ML, Big Data... to analyze customer behavior and needs, personalize products, automate business processes, improve operational efficiency; helping people and businesses transact quickly, safely and economically on familiar digital platforms.

"Those results are becoming an important foundation to create a stepping stone for the strong development of digital financial inclusion in Vietnam in the 2025-2030 period," Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung emphasized.

Challenges ahead and implementation directions

Despite many positive results, the digital financial ecosystem still faces challenges such as a lack of a legal framework and slow updates; the ability to monitor the activities of digital entities has not kept up with reality; customers' expectations are increasingly high regarding personalization, speed, and safety; large technology investment costs; and inadequate consumer protection and data security.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, from now until 2030, Vietnamese commercial banks will deploy digital financial services in five main directions. Specifically, open data and open banking will move towards a standardized API model; supply chain finance will be digitized throughout; AI/machine learning will become a new layer of defense against fraud. Along with that, embedded finance and real-time payments will be deeply integrated into e-commerce platforms, allowing credit to be granted by order, by invoice almost at the time of transaction. Another direction is that green finance and a sustainable reporting system will become standards according to international practices.

At the Conference, Dr. Nguyen Quoc Hung also emphasized the special significance of digitalizing trade finance for a highly open economy like Vietnam, with import-export turnover equivalent to about 170% of GDP. However, the trade finance gap still exists, especially for SMEs, due to lack of data transparency and high compliance costs.

In that context, the Trade Finance Registry (TFR) Project - a national database on trade finance implemented by the Banking Association in coordination with the State Bank, the British Embassy and BCG is expected to create a safe corridor for banks to share and compare transaction data, preventing fraud. The core values of TFR are transparency of the funding status of pre-disbursement documents; standardization of trade data (electronic invoices, electronic bills of lading, etc.); API integration with banks/customs/logistics; compliance with data protection.

"With the technical support from the UK Government , along with the determination of management agencies, credit institutions and businesses, I believe that Vietnam can set a new standard for trade finance transparency in the region, thereby making further breakthroughs in developing financial services, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth," the Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association expressed confidence.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/tao-buoc-dem-de-tai-chinh-toan-dien-so-but-pha-173236.html