The Paradigm Shift Toward Data-Centric Smart Banking

In recent years, Vietnam has consistently solidified its position as one of the fastest-growing digital finance markets in Southeast Asia. According to Dr. Đào Minh Tú, the digital revolution within the banking sector is no longer confined to surface-level advancements, such as expanding digital applications or isolating electronic payment channels. Instead, the entire industry is undergoing a structural paradigm shift, fundamentally reshaping operational models, governance mindsets, and customer experience frameworks.

Dr. Dao Minh Tu – Vice Chairman and Secretary General of VNBA

Solid data from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) clearly reflects this momentum:

  • Over 95% of credit institutions in Vietnam have actively developed and executed comprehensive digital transformation strategies.

  • Nearly 80% of all financial transactions across the country are now processed seamlessly via digital channels.

The VNBA leader emphasized that the banking sector is successfully transitioning from a "service digitization" stage to the era of Smart Banking—an operational model fully anchored in data and end-to-end digital connectivity. Consequently, pioneering technologies such as AI-powered banking, Open Banking, Cloud Computing, and Smart Data Governance have evolved from mere experimental initiatives into mission-critical, strategic priorities for financial institutions. Data has officially become a strategic asset, sitting at the heart of new value creation.

Cybersecurity Pressures and the Digital Resilience Equation

While technology unlocks exponential growth opportunities, Dr. Dao Minh Tu frankly addressed the structural pressures of rapid digital expansion, specifically pointing out system vulnerabilities, cybersecurity threats, and sophisticated financial fraud. As the digital financial ecosystem becomes more interconnected, the "attack surface" available to high-tech criminals expands substantially.

To substantiate this analysis, the VNBA leader cited data from recent prestigious international cybersecurity assessments:

  • Visa’s Asia-Pacific Cyber Risk Report (April 2026): AI-driven cyber attacks are escalating dramatically in both scale and sophistication. Threats have pivotally shifted from basic infrastructure disruption to advanced data exploitation and identity theft in digital environments.

  • The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: A striking 65% of large organizations globally recognize that vulnerabilities steming from third parties and technology supply chains represent the primary hurdle to their overall cyber resilience.

Grounded in these insights, Dr. Dao Minh Tu outlined an immutable rule: Digital transformation must go hand in hand with resilience in the digital environment. Financial institutions must avoid chasing frontline features at the expense of reinforcing the security shields protecting their core infrastructure.

Shaping a Sustainable Digital Ecosystem: Customer Experience at the Core, Collaboration as the Key

Envisioning the future of the financial digital value chain for the 2026–2030 period, Dr. Dao Minh Tu re-anchored technology not merely as a backend tool, but as a mechanism redefining banking values: “While banks historically provided services via traditional storefront models, they are now transitioning into smart digital ecosystems where data is a strategic asset and customer experience dictates every development decision.”

To translate this vision into secure, sustainable growth, the VNBA leadership called for a highly integrated and substantive collaboration framework across three critical pillars:

-Regulators: To perfect regulatory frameworks, accelerate specialized sandboxes, and mandate high-level data safety and governance guidelines.

-Financial Institutions: To proactively upgrade technology architectures, modernize predictive analytics for risk management, and prevent transactional fraud.

-Domestic and International Tech Communities: To partner in delivering high-grade, localized tech solutions, safeguarding digital identity, and securing supply chain perimeters.

Conference view

This institutional synergy will enable Vietnamese banks to optimize operational costs, enhance performance efficiencies, promote financial inclusion, and confidently secure higher-value positions within the regional digital finance value chain.

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