Participants in the dialogue included high-level representatives from both sides. Leading the VNBA delegation was Dr. Dao Minh Tu – Vice Chairman and Secretary General of VNBA, along with Mr. Nguyen Dang Hung – Chairman of the Vietnam Fintech Club (VietFintech) and Deputy General Director of NAPAS. Representing the UK, the delegation was led by Mr. Martin Kent – His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, accompanied by Ms. Alexandra Smith – British Consul General, representatives from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and numerous leading enterprises operating in fields such as Open Banking, Core Banking, digital identity, cybersecurity, and financial infrastructure.
Growth drivers and the regulatory framework of Vietnam's Fintech market
Dr. Dao Minh Tu – Vice Chairman cum Secretary General of VNBA
Assessing the macroeconomic picture, Dr. Dao Minh Tu emphasized that Vietnam's Fintech sector possesses a tremendous margin for development. Since 2015, the number of Fintech enterprises has recorded exponential growth, surging from 39 to approximately 400 enterprises and startups at present. The market size is estimated to reach the $20 billion threshold by 2025 and is projected to break through to $60-65 billion by 2032, equivalent to a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17-18%.
In terms of institutional aspects, Dr. Dao Minh Tu stated that the Government's official promulgation of a regulatory sandbox mechanism in 2025 was a fundamental turning point. This legal framework not only creates a safe environment to test high-risk models such as credit scoring, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending, or Open APIs, but also provides a tool for regulatory agencies to measure and neutralize systemic risks during the application of financial technology.
Furthermore, the relationship between commercial banks and Fintech enterprises has experienced a distinct structural shift: moving from a competitive stance to a symbiotic, cooperative model. This serves as the core premise for the establishment of the VietFintech Club (affiliated with VNBA) with 48 key members, acting as an anchor connecting financial institutions and the technology sector. Nevertheless, VNBA leadership also issued a prudent message regarding the systemic risks accompanying the digitalization process, particularly cybersecurity, data breaches, and financial fraud, which demand that organizations continuously upgrade their defensive and responsive capabilities.
The position of the UK as a financial hub and implications for cooperation
Mr. Martin Kent – His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, UK
Representing a financial technology powerhouse, Mr. Martin Kent expressed his appreciation for VNBA's goodwill and outlined the preeminent Fintech ecosystem of London. Since 2019, London has attracted over £28 billion in investment capital, incubated more than 1,600 enterprises, and possesses 41 technology "unicorns."
From the perspective of international trade, Mr. Kent highly evaluated the growth momentum of the UK-Vietnam economic relationship, which has been strongly supported by the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and the CPTPP platform, propelling bilateral trade turnover beyond £10 billion per year. With this foundation, British technology unicorns are fully prepared to transfer management knowledge, capital structures, and innovation capacity. He expects that the core technologies in which the UK holds an absolute advantage, such as digital assets, digital identity, Open APIs, and market infrastructure, will become powerful levers for Vietnam's comprehensive digital transformation roadmap.
Practical demands and technological touchpoints
The working session also witnessed direct interaction regarding capacities and solution demands between the enterprises:
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From the UK: Enterprises presented highly applicable solutions. Specifically, Traydstream showcased 10 years of experience in trade finance; SaaScada provided a next-generation Core Banking solution; Ozone API introduced Open Banking infrastructure; Elliptic focused on digital asset risk management; Sumsub demonstrated an eKYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) platform; alongside advanced data security solutions from CyberQ Group and MyCena.
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From Vietnam: Corporations such as Viettel Digital and VNPT demonstrated profound interest in multinational Core Banking models, cross-border payments, and AI technology in trade finance. Representatives from investment funds (such as the fund established by Visa) and FinHome Investment placed special emphasis on the practical implementation of Open Banking, Blockchain, and the Banking as a Service (BaaS) model.
Notably, the Trade Finance Registry (TFR) project garnered significant attention from the British delegation. Sharing the project's progress, Dr. Dao Minh Tu stated that VNBA is acting as the coordinating focal point under the direction of the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam. After more than a year since its inception, the TFR is entering Phase 2 with the pilot participation of 8 major commercial banks, creating a premise to advance to Phase 3, which will focus on practical data management and exploitation.
Closing the working session, Dr. Dao Minh Tu highly commended the capacity and technological content brought by the UK enterprises. This bilateral meeting goes beyond the mere exchange of information; it is expected to be the first building block in forging highly practical strategic cooperation projects. In the digital economy era, Fintech will undoubtedly be one of the critical pillars, retaining ample room for exploitation to further deepen the economic partnership between Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
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