Promoting financial inclusion and electronic payment in the rising movement of cashless economy

Attending Banking Vietnam 2019 were representatives of the Central Economic Committee, the National Assembly Committee for Economic Affairs, the National Financial Supervisory Committee, leaders of the SBV and a number of ministries and central government agencies (the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information and Communication,...); representatives of various institutes, universities, research centers, credit institutions and several international organizations in Vietnam (the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB,...); representatives of the SBV’s departments and agencies; scientists, experts in the banking industry; relevant organizations, businesses and units.

SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh experiences new technology and banking services at the exhibition booths

In his opening remarks at the Banking Vietnam 2019, SBV Deputy Governor Nguyen Kim Anh emphasized that “Banking Vietnam is a banking technology event co-organized by the SBV and the International Data Group (IDG) in order to exhibit, introduce new achievements of the modern technology and the applications of the information technology in creating new banking products and services.” At the same time, Banking Vietnam is also the place where conference sessions are held for banking leaders, financial - banking experts and technology experts to discuss solutions and strategies for developing the banking services, based on the applications of the information technology and communication.

Currently, Vietnam is making efforts to develop and implement the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. The Resolution on the main tasks and solutions to implement the socio-economic development plan for 2019 (Resolution 01/NQ-CP dated January 1st, 2019) mentions that the development of the "National Financial Inclusion Strategy" is one of the key tasks that the Government has assigned the SBV to assume the prime responsibility for implementation in 2019. Financial Inclusion is not only significant for socio-economic development but also an important premise for sustainable national growth.

In addition to many other pillars, electronic payment will be one of the important pillars that contribute to the successful implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. Currently, Vietnam is focusing on implementing the e-payment pillar and has achieved some outstanding results.

The Deputy Governor stressed that promoting financial inclusion and developing electronic payment in the next period should pay attention to the trend of digitalizing of the banking services, customer-centric has become popular and consumer behaviors have drastically changed from limited interactions in the off-line environment, face-to-face meetings with bank staff to an online trading environment that does not require direct meetings, but the customers can still access and use the banking services continuously, anytime, anywhere on a variety of mobile devices. This new context requires banks and payment intermediaries to invest and apply strongly the Industry 4.0 technologies to provide many new banking products and services; accelerating the exploitation and analysis of smart data to understand their customers, thereby providing safe, convenient and personalized products and services at reasonable prices with advanced technology; protecting customers' confidentiality, preventing cyber attacks;...

In that context, the Banking Vietnam Conference and Expo 2019 with the theme of “Financial inclusion in the rising movement of cashless economy” with discussions and sharings from the top speakers and experts at home and abroad, will provide a lot of information, make comprehensive and objective judgments and assessments on the current situation, the opportunities and challenges in implementing a financial inclusion strategy in association with the policy of promoting non-cash payment, thereby proposing specific and practical recommendations and solutions suitable to Vietnam's circumstances, conditions and development level ...

Mr. Alwaleed Alatabani - the World Bank Lead Financial Sector Specialist presents at the Conference

After the opening ceremony, at the Plenary Session of the Conference with the theme of “Financial inclusion in the rising movement of cashless economy”, the participants in the Conference discussed analyzed the relationship between financial inclusion promotion and cashless economy development, the current situation, opportunities as well as difficulties and challenges in implementing non-cash payment and promoting financial inclusion in Vietnam. The Conference also discussed and suggested many solutions and good practices from other countries such as in developing core technologies to support banks in deploying and managing financial services; building a diversified financial ecosystem, developing payment systems and payment services in the rising movement of cashless economy.

Executives talk on financial inclusion promotion and electronic payment development

Banking Vietnam 2019 also included a Conference Session with the theme of “Risk management in financial service supply towards financial inclusion and cashless economy”. At this Conference, the participants shared that in the rising movement of cashless economy, Vietnamese banks have quickly grasped and focused on developing digital payment services, digital banking and making great progress. However, in the current context, banks need to continue to invest, apply strongly the Industry 4.0 technologies, new solutions, and innovative models in order to prevent network security risks, protect customer confidentiality, promote smart data mining and analysis to understand their customers, thereby providing safe and convenient products and services that meet customer needs.

Meanwhile at another Session featuring the theme “Diversification in financial institutions and service supply towards financial inclusion and cashless economy”, the participants talked about how providing financial services to all people and organizations in the economy still faces many barriers such as service costs, geographical distances, service delivery time, service quality,... Therefore, the diversification of the organizations and the channels of providing financial services is an effective solution in providing modern financial services. Vietnam has a young population structure, very fast growth of Internet and mobile users, along with the appearance of many financial technology companies (Fintech) and the growing micro-finance activities, which are all favorable conditions to promote financial inclusion and develop electronic payment in the economy.

At Banking Vietnam 2019, there were exciting exhibition activities with about 30 exhibitors, including domestic banks such as Vietcombank, LienvietPostbank, OCB and Fintech companies such as VN Pay, together with many international companies providing banking technology solutions such as Miraway, Clayfin,... The exhibitors introduced many highly practical technology solutions for non-cash payment development, information security, improving customer experience, increasing risk management efficiency, etc.

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