According to statistics, in 2021 bank credit has shifted in the right direction, the proportion of retail loans of medium and large-sized banks accounts for 40%-50%, especially for several banks up to nearly 90%.

At the Vietnam Retail Banking Forum organized by the International Data Group in Vietnam (IDG Vietnam) and the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) over the weekend, the  VNBA  Secretary General Nguyen Quoc Hung said that the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted banks to quickly implement the digital transformation process to adapt.

Banks have had many policies and solutions to develop retail banking services on digital platforms such as: developing a variety of modern banking products and services from Mobile banking, Internet banking, QR code, using using electronic identification technology (eKYC), etc. to help customers to help customers easily access and use services anywhere, anytime, limiting contact.

The development of modern products and services on the basis of digital technology has promoted the retail banking market to develop more effectively, thereby promoting the digital financial ecosystem. Non-cash payment activities achieved high growth, in which, via Internet channel increased by 48.8% in quantity and 32.6% in value; via mobile phone channels increased by 76.2% and 87.5% in quantity and in value respectively; payment via QR Code grew 200% over the previous year. Besides, consumer loans of financial companies reached nearly 200,000 billion dong, an increase of nearly 6% compared to 2020.

VNBA's General Secretary said that thanks to the development trend of retail banking, banks can maintain their growth rate, overcome the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and create added values, supporting customers during difficult times (accumulated over two years, the banking system has exempted and reduced more than VND 37,500 billion of loan interest, conducted about 80% of the number of transactions free of charge with the amount of VND 2,557 billion). “The growth of the banking industry in 2021 has a positive contribution from retail services,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung.

It is forecasted that in the 2021-2025 period, the banking sector will continue to have strong growth, including the retail banking service segment. Nearly 50% of Vietnam's population uses e-commerce, especially the young generation with new consumption behaviors. In the Project on developing non-cash payments in Vietnam for the 2021 - 2025 period, the Prime Minister set a target that by 2025, 80% of people aged 15 and over have a bank account, non-cash payment value is 25 times higher than GDP, non-cash payment in e-commerce reaches 50%...

However, the development of retail banking products and services also faces many challenges. Never before has the problem of cyber security and financial crime increased as quickly and as much as in the past few years. This trend requires banks to strengthen security and safety measures to create peace of mind for users. In addition, the digital transformation race is going strong, but the law enforcement system has not yet caught up.

Kylie Nguyen