In the coming period, the banking sector will continue to implement cross-sectoral cooperation: integrating, connecting, and sharing information between the banking sector and other industries to expand the digital ecosystem and develop digital banking and payment services. This will help form an interconnected digital ecosystem, creating favorable conditions for people and businesses to access services quickly, safely, and effectively.
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 marks an important milestone. It demonstrates the strong determination of the Party and the Government to make science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation a strategic breakthrough in the country’s new development phase. It also provides a strong momentum for the banking sector to advance steadily on the path of comprehensive digital transformation. As the lifeblood of the economy, the banking sector identifies the creation of an “intelligent digital ecosystem” not only as a strategic objective but also as an inevitable requirement to continue its role as one of the pioneering industries in the national digital transformation process.
Illustrative photo (Source: Internet)
An intelligent ecosystem in the financial–banking sector is a modern structure ensuring full-process connectivity between banks and Fintech partners, technology companies, and third parties in other fields (commerce, healthcare, education, transportation, etc.). This is enabled through digital technology platforms, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and more, to build a unified digital ecosystem that seamlessly provides customers with a wide range of financial and non-financial products and services.
Delivering practical value to meet diverse customer needs
Building an intelligent digital ecosystem is an inevitable requirement in the context of the economy’s strong shift toward the digital environment. First, it enhances the banking sector’s ability to serve people and businesses, with financial services delivered quickly, flexibly, in a personalized manner, and suited to each usage context. Moreover, through data connection and sharing among parties within and outside the financial–banking sector, the intelligent digital ecosystem helps improve risk management, fraud prevention, and consumer protection.
At the same time, it serves as a critical platform for promoting innovation, developing new products and services, and expanding cooperation between banks, Fintechs, BigTechs, and other sectors such as education, healthcare, and e-commerce. In the long term, the intelligent digital ecosystem will be a strategic driver to enhance the competitiveness of the financial–banking sector, while effectively serving the national goals of developing a digital economy and a digital society.
To date, in Vietnam, the banking sector’s ecosystem of digital products and services includes many modern and convenient payment methods that are seamlessly connected and integrated across various sectors. Services on the National Public Service Portal, essential services such as electricity, water, telecommunications, healthcare, education, e-commerce platforms, ride-hailing, restaurant bookings, and tourism platforms have all been integrated into or connected with mobile applications of banks and payment intermediaries. This allows people and businesses to transact and pay safely, conveniently, and cost-effectively right on familiar digital platforms. At the same time, digital payment ecosystems also ensure the secure storage of customer information and transaction history.
At the 2025 Banking Digital Transformation event, SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong stated that more than 87% of Vietnamese adults now have bank accounts. Non-cash payments have seen impressive growth, with transaction values 25 times the size of GDP. Many customer-friendly banking products and services bring practical value and meet diverse needs. Several basic banking operations have been fully digitized (savings deposits, term deposits, opening and using payment accounts, issuing bank cards, e-wallets, transfers, loans, etc.). Many credit institutions in Vietnam report that over 90% of transactions are conducted through digital channels.
At the press conference on banking performance in the first half of 2025, SBV announced that in the first five months of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, non-cash payment transactions rose 45.44% in volume and 25.21% in value; Internet transactions grew 47.09% in volume and 34.46% in value; mobile transactions increased 39.90% in volume and 23.22% in value; QR Code transactions surged 76.62% in volume and 179.14% in value; interbank electronic payment system transactions increased 9.99% in volume and 39.85% in value; and financial switching and electronic clearing transactions rose 14.33% in volume and 3.85% in value.
To achieve these results in non-cash payments and digital transformation, SBV has continuously improved the legal framework: regularly researching, reviewing, amending, supplementing, and issuing regulations to promote digital banking. Key efforts include drafting and advising the Government on the Law on Credit Institutions 2024; contributing to laws directly related to digital transformation such as the draft Law on the Digital Technology Industry, the draft Law on Personal Data Protection, the Decree on electronic identification and authentication, and the Prime Minister’s Decision approving the National Data Center Strategy; submitting to the Government Decree No. 52/2024/ND-CP dated May 15, 2024, on non-cash payments and Decree No. 94/2025/ND-CP dated April 29, 2025, on the regulatory sandbox in banking; issuing circulars to guide the Law on Credit Institutions and decrees; issuing regulations on safety and security in online services; regulations on the implementation of open APIs in banking; and the Strategy for the Development of Vietnam’s Payment Systems to 2030, which guides the advancement of digital payments in Vietnam.
The banking sector has paid great attention to investing in and upgrading digital transformation infrastructure to ensure safe and uninterrupted operations. The interbank electronic payment system operates stably and securely. The national credit information infrastructure has been upgraded to enhance processing capacity, automatic data updates, and to expand Host-to-Host (H2H) connections to credit institutions, helping them save time, reduce manpower and costs, and ensure safety and transparency in credit information activities.
For the banking sector, data is the key to connecting the open ecosystem, delivering seamless and consistent experiences to customers. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), in line with the directions of the Prime Minister and the Government’s Working Group, has been implementing Scheme 06 (Decision No. 06/QĐ-TTg dated January 6, 2022, approving the Scheme on the development of applications for population data, identification, and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the 2022–2025 period, with a vision toward 2030). At the same time, the SBV has actively coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies and units, based on the actual situation, to organize the synchronous and effective implementation of Scheme 06 in the banking sector.
The SBV has instructed credit institutions, branches of foreign banks, and providers of intermediary payment services to study and apply population data, chip-based ID cards, identity accounts, and electronic authentication (VNeID) to clean data, accurately identify and verify customers, thereby preventing and combating crimes of impersonation or the use of forged identity documents for illegal purposes in banking services. Concurrently, efforts have been made to research the application of population data in order to deploy the most convenient and secure banking products and services to the people and customers.
At the Public Sector Digital Transformation Forum (July 17) organized by VOV Online Newspaper, Mr. Le Anh Dzung, Deputy Director General of the Payment Department (SBV), said that more than 120.9 million individual customer records and 1.2 million institutional customer records had been matched with biometric information. Compared with the same period in 2024, the number of individuals scammed and losing money dropped by 57%, while the number of personal accounts receiving fraudulent transfers fell by 47%.
Security and safety have always been a priority. SBV regularly works closely with ministries, sectors, and agencies to strengthen security measures in banking operations, enhance communications, and promote financial literacy through diverse approaches, aiming to prevent and minimize the misuse of payment services for illegal activities, while enabling people and businesses to maximize the benefits of digital payments.
Recently, SBV also cooperated with several banks to develop the SIMO system – a monitoring system that collects data on suspicious or fraudulent payment accounts and e-wallets. The system now provides alerts to banks, supporting customers when transferring money to accounts on the suspicious list, helping people reconsider before making a transaction. This again highlights the crucial role of data.
Overcoming challenges
Despite significant achievements in digital transformation and non-cash payments, the banking sector still faces challenges in data connection and management. Data remains fragmented, lacking interoperability, and there is no synchronization and standardization across industries to enable seamless integration. The absence of uniform standards complicates data sharing and integration. Real-time data exploitation is still limited. Data-sharing mechanisms between state agencies and credit institutions are still in the process of being developed.
Current conditions require banking technology infrastructure not only to meet internal demands but also to adapt to multiple integration protocols and methods, while leveraging AI to deliver smarter, more personalized services. In the context where banks must approve loans intelligently and quickly, customers cannot wait too long. Institutions therefore need to harness the power of AI, machine learning (ML), and now Generative AI (GenAI) to automate and optimize many operational processes.
Moreover, not only banking but many other sectors also lack high-quality human resources with expertise in both operations and technology for digital transformation. Alongside technological progress, cybercrime is becoming increasingly sophisticated and unpredictable, raising cybersecurity risks. Additionally, some people remain hesitant to adopt digital payment services.
The revised Law on Electronic Transactions and the Law on Personal Data Protection, recently passed by the National Assembly, contain stricter provisions on data classification, management, sharing, and protection.
To accelerate banking digitalization and contribute to realizing national digital transformation goals, SBV has identified the following priority measures:
First, continue improving institutions, closely coordinating with ministries and sectors to expedite the review, amendment, and issuance of legal documents that promote non-cash payments and digital banking, while removing obstacles.
Second, continue upgrading banking infrastructure for science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, while ensuring security and safety. Focus on building a shared banking sector database to enable data-driven decision-making. Develop and issue data standards and detailed regulations on information and data security. Encourage banks to adopt new technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Blockchain to build flexible and sustainable data infrastructure. Credit institutions should update modern security applications and invest in secure technology infrastructure.
Third, continue implementing cross-sectoral cooperation: integrating, connecting, and sharing banking information with other industries to expand the digital ecosystem and develop digital banking and payment services, thereby forming an interconnected ecosystem that enables people and businesses to access services quickly, safely, and effectively.
Fourth, continue strengthening international cooperation to keep pace with new technological trends and learn from global experiences.
Fifth, continue increasing resources for digital transformation, strongly applying innovative technologies to provide diverse, convenient, and cost-effective products and services to people and businesses. Credit institutions should train and recruit highly skilled cybersecurity personnel.
Sixth, continue enhancing communication and financial education so that people and businesses can use digital banking services safely and effectively.
For their part, relevant ministries and agencies should continue combating cybercrime by disabling suspected fraudulent websites, developing coordination regulations for emergency responses to online fraud, strengthening international cooperation to prevent and detect cross-border cyber fraud organizations, promptly warning the public, and researching technical solutions to effectively block suspicious calls and messages.
HL