On November 28th, 2017, the first Fintech Challenge Vietnam (FCV) was official launched at the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV). The objectives of the Program are to promote innovations in financial services with a view to enhancing financial inclusion in Viet Nam.
Attending the ceremony were SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh - Head of Fintech Steering Committee; Mr. Eric Sidgwick - Country Director, Vietnam Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank (ADB); Ms Beatrice Maser Mallor – Ambassador of Switzerland to Viet Nam; Mr. Justin Baguley - Counsellor of Economic and Development Cooperation, Australian Embassy in Vietnam; Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang - Former SBV Deputy Governor, General Secretary of the Vietnam Banks Association; and other representatives from the Embassy of Switzerland, the Embassy of Canada and the Royal Netherlands Embassy to Vietnam.
The ceremony was also attended by representatives and delegates from a number of ministries, government agencies, international organizations, the media, commercial banks and development partners, co-organizers and partners of Fintech Challenge Vietnam.
Mr. Eric Sidgwick - Country Director, Vietnam Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank (ADB) spoke at the event
Viet Nam’s financial sector has grown substantially but financial institutions still find it challenging to provide financial services to underserved customer segments, including small businesses, rural population, and urban migrants. The recent worldwide booming of financial technology (fintech), with Viet Nam included, promises to fill this gap.
SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh spoke at the event
Fintech Challenge Vietnam is the opportunity for Fintech companies both inside and outside of Viet Nam who are interested in collaborating with commercial banks to pilot and scale-up solutions for the improvement of financial services in the following categories: electronic payment; e-KYC (“Know Your Customer”) / e-Identification; Open APIs; Blockchain; and Peer-to-peer lending. The program is aimed at spurring innovations in the financial services in order to promote greater financial inclusion in Viet Nam.
The focus of the Challenge is on fintech solutions that can improve the offers of financial services to the underserved and unbanked.
Fintech Challenge Vietnam is organized by the SBV with the support of the Mekong Business Initiative, a program funded by the Government of Australia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In addition, the Viet Nam Banks Association and the Viet Nam Fintech Club are the co-sponsors of the program. The Program Partners include 7 commercial banks (BIDV, Shinhan Bank, TP Bank, VIB, Vietcombank, VietinBank, VP Bank) as well as FPT, Vietnam Silicon Valley, and VISA.
Mr. Roger Thomas Moyers - MBI Project Director presents an overview of the 1st Fintech Challenge Vietnam
Mr. Nghiem Thanh Son - Deputy Director General of Payment Department, SBV chairs a press conference
The deadline for applications is 18th January 2018 via webpage: fintech.mekongbiz.org.
Successful Challenge applicants will continue to participate in a two-month long incubation and mentoring program to fine-tune their business models. They will also participate in a competitive “Pitch Session” where they will present their financial technology solutions to a panel of banking industry players, financial experts and investors. The best solutions will have the opportunity to demo their products and services at the 2018 Vietnam Fintech Day.
Van Anh