Application of artificial intelligence in finance and banking industry

According to statistics from Statista (a German online platform specializing in collecting and visualizing global data), financial enterprises worldwide have invested about 45.19 billion USD in AI technology in 2024, an increase of about 10 billion USD compared to 2023. Investments in AI are mainly focused on product/service development, risk management and corporate strategy/finance development. Along with that huge amount of investment and the rapid development of the digital age, up to 43% of financial institutions in 2025 will consider AI as one of the most important factors to help businesses operate effectively.

The above figures show the development as well as the strong interest of businesses in AI technology in the financial sector worldwide. This trend will increase strongly as AI is gradually becoming a part and promises to contribute to changing the face of the financial and banking industry.

Vietnam is also not outside the development trend of AI technology in the global financial sector as recent years have witnessed a strong and widespread explosion in the application of AI in financial and banking activities. The results of the national financial services survey conducted by Finastra (the world's leading technology company) show that up to 94% of financial institutions in Vietnam expressed excitement about the opportunities that AI can bring to the industry. This is clearly demonstrated when in recent years, banking applications and e-wallets in Vietnam have applied AI for many different purposes such as asset management, enhanced security, anti-fraud as well as using chatbots to support customers.

Experts share AI applications in the finance and banking industry at the workshop "Developing competitive advantages for financial enterprises with smart infrastructure and AI applications". Photo: VJST

As one of the leading banks in applying AI to digital banking products and services to improve customer experience, Vietcombank has launched the virtual assistant VCB Digibot - a product developed based onthe FPT .AI platform. Accordingly, this virtual assistant is capable of quickly and accurately responding to most of the frequently asked questions of customers in many areas such as: cards, loans, interest rates, promotional information, exchange rates, networks... Notably, with requests beyond the system's consulting scope, VCB Digibot can flexibly forward the request to a consultant. Thanks to that, after only half a year of operation, VCB Digibot has successfully processed nearly 89% of requests, contributing to saving waiting time and significantly improving the customer experience.

Although it brings many benefits and is gradually becoming a mandatory trend in the finance and banking sector to achieve high efficiency, AI implementation still faces many challenges and difficulties.

Data security and privacy are always top concerns, especially when customers' personal information and transaction data are becoming more and more valuable assets. To function and operate effectively, AI will have access to large amounts of sensitive data such as transaction information, credit records and personal data of customers. This has the potential to increase the risk of unauthorized access, data leakage or information misuse.

Customer trust in the transparency and explainability of AI technology is also one of the barriers to applying this technology. In the financial and banking sector, decisions such as credit approval, risk assessment or customer profile analysis always require clarity, high levels of trust and transparency. When a financial decision is made by an AI system without a clear explanation, customers may feel confused, distrustful, and even doubtful about the accuracy and fairness of the system. This invisibly reduces trust in financial institutions, thereby affecting the level of customer engagement.

In addition, the challenge comes from localizing AI models. In order to provide accurate support solutions for different customer files, financial institutions need to customize the model to suit the language, culture and demographics of different markets. These adjustments and changes not only create additional time burden but also significantly increase the cost in the process of researching and developing AI models.

AI and new technologies are no longer a temporary trend but have become an important driving force for the long-term development of the finance and banking sector in Vietnam. However, the digital transformation process in many financial institutions still faces certain difficulties and challenges. Therefore, in order to effectively apply AI and achieve breakthrough developments, strong interest from businesses as well as active support for innovation from the Government and relevant ministries and branches is extremely necessary.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/202504/ung-dung-tri-tue-nhan-tao-trong-nganhtai-chinh-ngan-hang-e2105ec/