From the objective perspective of a market observer, this conference was not merely an information-sharing forum but a milestone redefining the industry's cybersecurity strategy, marking a transition from a passive posture to a proactive defense. The event brought together pivotal figures in the financial ecosystem, including:
-
VNBA Representatives: Dr. Dao Minh Tu (Vice Chairman & Secretary General), Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam (Vice Chairman of the Card Association), Mr. Nguyen Minh Phuong (Head of the Risk Management Sub-committee), and Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung (Former Vice Chairman & Secretary General, Term VII).
-
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Representatives: Mr. Pham Anh Tuan (Director General of the Payment Department), Mr. Hoang Minh Tien (Deputy Director General of the IT Department), and Mr. Ngo Lam Son (Deputy Director of SBV Branch, Region 7).
-
Leading Tech & Payment Partners: Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long (Deputy General Director of NAPAS), Mr. Utomo Kelvin (Product Director of Visa Vietnam & Laos), alongside representatives from Mastercard, JCB Vietnam, UPI Southeast Asia, Huawei Asia-Pacific, and MK Smart.
Dr. Dao Minh Tu - VNBA Vice Chairman & Secretary General
Identifying "Undercurrents" of high-tech crime
Delivering the opening remarks, Dr. Dao Minh Tu pointed out a sharp reality: "Cybersecurity and payment safety is a race without a finish line." The open cyberspace is being exploited by cross-border crime syndicates with increasingly sophisticated tactics. Banks are confronting not only the risk of customer asset loss but, more profoundly, the challenge of preserving trust—the lifeblood of the financial system. He emphasized that securing payments is no longer a solitary task but a vital strategy demanding synchronized, decisive action from the entire system.
Elaborating on this risk landscape, Mr. Nguyen Minh Phuong warned about the explosion of fraud utilizing AI and Deepfakes (fake faces, voices, and synthetic identities). Attack vectors have expanded from psychological manipulation, OTP theft, and SIM Swapping, to digital payment fraud like Card-Not-Present (CNP) transactions, e-commerce fraud, and, most dangerously, organized syndicates trading payment data.
Mr. Pham Anh Tuan SBV Director General of the Payment Department
The "Digital shield" from regulators and the value of trust
Representing the regulatory body, Mr. Pham Anh Tuan provided impressive statistics: In the first four months of 2026, cashless payment transactions surged by 36.02% in volume and 10.74% in value. The boom in QR codes and Mobile Banking proves a vigorous market shift. Underscoring the principle that "trust is the invisible but most important infrastructure," the SBV representative outlined key defensive spearheads:
-
Legal framework: Perfecting mechanisms by drafting the Decree amending Decree 52/2024/ND-CP and issuing Circular 18/2024/TT-NHNN (amended and supplemented by Circular 45/2025/TT-NHNN) to tighten card safety regulations.
-
Data cleansing: Through coordination with the Ministry of Public Security to implement Project 06, as of May 22, 2026, over 161.2 million individual profiles and 2.26 million corporate profiles had been cross-checked with biometrics—a decisive move to eliminate "junk accounts."
-
The SIMO early warning system: This is truly the core of proactive defense. By June 2026, SIMO had connected 147 units, promptly intercepting threats by blacklisting a massive number of suspicious entities (503,436 payment accounts, 25,970 e-wallets, 7,175 merchants, and 197,228 bank cards).
A new trust architecture and the power of connectivity
Bringing a global perspective, Visa representative Mr. Utomo Kelvin pointed out that AI is becoming the new gateway to commerce. In the Asia-Pacific region, 74% of consumers already use AI. When AI not only supports but begins to take action on behalf of users, the traditional system must be expanded into a "new trust architecture." This architecture requires flexibly verifying whether the transacting subject is a human or an AI, and accurately authenticating the intent, all while maintaining low friction.
Regardless of technological advancements, system connectivity remains the core. Dr. Dao Minh Tu affirmed: "Sharing risk prevention experience is not revealing business secrets... but rather protecting the industry's reputation together." The clearest evidence of this is the Risk Handling Coordination Handbook issued by VNBA. After over half a year of implementation, the Handbook has become a standardized protocol helping banks react swiftly, halt fraudulent cash flows, and mitigate actual losses.
Summarizing the event, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam noted that the greatest value of the conference lies in its ability to converge and establish a tight companionship among members. The cybersecurity race never truly ends, but with the synergy of robust policies, pioneering technology, and systemic solidarity, the Vietnamese banking industry is building a resilient payment platform, ready to embrace the new opportunities of the digital economy.
VNBA News
