On October 13, 2023, in Hanoi, the Conference themed "Digital transformation of the finance & banking sector and opportunities for farmers" was co-organized by Vietnam Farmers' Union and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung speaks at the Conference
Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung affirmed that the banking industry cannot provide services and fulfill the tasks as stated in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy without the participation of media agencies, because 65% of the population lives in the rural areas. There are currently about 100 banks, and these banks would not be able to survive without the provision of good and safe digital services at reasonable costs. The SBV Deputy Governor said that this is also the SBV’s guiding viewpoint, and in fact the banks have been very competitive in the digital transformation. That is very different from other economic sectors.
The SBV Deputy Governor shared information with the farmers that, in addition to the improvement of payment activities, the SBV had recently issued a Circular allowing banks to provide consumer loans in the digital environment, and the legal framework for this lending process has been implemented. The SBV has been coordinating with the Ministry of Public Security to evaluate two aspects of customer authentication and evaluation based on the personal identification database. When the data on the National Population Database is more "enriched" with other information, including tax data, social insurance, etc., the banks would provide more unsecured loans.
Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dzung also emphasized that, in addition to the promotion of the number of customers and transaction locations, the banks need to strengthen their communication on the features of their banking products and services, the benefits and utilities for farmers as customers, etc. When banking services are designed for the remote and rural areas, the banks need to listen to the opinions and requirements of the farmers and businesses in those remote and rural areas to develop their products and services accordingly.
The Conference was composed of two panel discussion sessions with two main topics: (i) Digital transformation of the finance and banking sector: Encouraging results; (ii) Removing obstacles in the digital transformation of the finance and banking sector.
The presentations and discussion papers delivered at the Conference focused on a number of substances, such as: The importance of the digital economy and the role of the digital transformation in the finance and banking sector in the rural areas; Farmers' assessments from their experience with the digital services and products provided by the banks and telecommunications businesses; Experience in supporting farmers, banks, and telecommunications businesses in the digital transformation; The role of Vietnam Farmers' Association in disseminating and training farmers to participate in the digital transformation of the finance and banking sector and improving their understanding when using the digital financial products; Formulation of the legal frameworks, implementing digital financial products such as digital signatures, digital contracts, electronic transactions, building databases; Cyber safety, security, account thefts, etc.
Le Hang