Post by : Minna

Vietnam’s banking industry is entering an important new phase where data will become the centre of all operations, decision-making, and customer services. This was shared by Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), during a special seminar held on Wednesday.

Seminar Focused on Digital Transformation

The seminar, titled “Building the Backbone of Digital Finance: Resilient and Scalable Data Strategies for Vietnam’s Financial Institutions,” was organised by the VNBA in coordination with the IEC Group. Many banking leaders and experts attended to discuss how banks can build a strong and secure data system for the future.

During the event, Mr. Hùng said:

“The banking industry has always been a leader in using new technology and providing digital services. Now it is time for banks to build a modern, flexible, and strong data system. This is not only important for technology but also for how banks are organised, how they manage their work, and how they connect.”

He explained that in the future, banks will need to have:

• Systems that can easily connect with other banks and organisations
• Controlled ways to share data safely
• The ability to study and analyse large amounts of data quickly
• Strong security at many levels to keep data safe
• Flexibility to grow their systems as needed

All these factors will help banks achieve their long-term goals and serve customers better.

2025 – A Major Milestone for Banks

Mr. Hùng said that the year 2025 will be very important. This is because many new policies related to data, technology, and digital transformation will start in Vietnam. One of the biggest changes is the Data Law, which took effect on July 1, 2025. This is Vietnam’s first full legal rule to guide the development, use, and safe sharing of data.

He said:

“The banking industry is ready to move to a new stage where data is at the centre of everything. Banks will be able to create a smart, flexible, safe, and scalable banking system. Here, data will not just be something banks use – it will become a main resource to grow and create new ideas.”

Current Progress in Banking Digital Services

Mr. Hùng shared some important numbers to show how well banks are using technology:

• More than 90% of banking transactions at many banks are now done through digital channels like internet banking or mobile apps.
• Over 87% of adults in Vietnam now have a bank account.
• Services such as deposits, opening accounts, card issuance, money transfers, and loans are now fully digital. This has helped save time, reduce costs, and make banking easier for customers.
• Around 711,000 institutional accounts have been checked with biometric data, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, and are fully updated in the banking system.

Future Plans to Strengthen Banking Data

Looking ahead, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will issue new regulations. These include:

• Closing any bank account that does not have proper identity data.
• Linking banks with the VNeID digital identity system, so that customers’ identities can be verified automatically without manual paperwork.

Mr. Hùng said that by June 2025, major banks in Vietnam will have standardised more than 95% of their customer data. This will help:

• Remove duplicate or wrong information
• Make data more reliable
• Reduce risks in giving loans or doing transactions

Words from the IT Director of SBV

Mr. Lê Hoàng Chính Quang, Director of the Information Technology Department of the State Bank of Vietnam, also spoke at the seminar. He said:

“Digital transformation cannot work well without a proper data strategy. To make data valuable, banks need to build a flexible and strong data system. This system should be able to support both big management work and daily operations in each bank.”

Achievements and Remaining Challenges

He explained that banks have already achieved good results, such as:

• Connecting technically with the National Population Database
• Building a credit information database that now holds information about more than 54 million borrowers in Vietnam

However, he pointed out some big challenges that still need to be solved:

• Data is still spread out in different places, making it hard to use
• There is a lack of common standards for how banks connect with each other
• Banks have limited ability to use real-time data or to share data easily with other agencies when needed

Adjusting to New Laws and Keeping Up with Trends

As the Data Law has now started from July 2025, Mr. Quang said banks must:

• Adjust their infrastructure, processes, and technology to follow this new law
• Make sure they can still use data flexibly to create better services and experiences for customers

Important Topics Discussed

At the seminar, where more than 30 senior banking leaders and experts were present, the topics discussed included:

• Building modern data architecture to ensure high performance and security
• Making sure different banks’ systems can work smoothly with each other
• Managing data properly from collection, processing, and analysis to safe sharing and following the rules
• Adapting to new trends in banking data strategies to stay competitive in the future

data infrastructure