Which bank is having the advantage in digital transformation?

In the newly released analysis report, KB Securities Vietnam (KBSV) assesses that the entire banking industry is in the stage of strong digital transformation.

Citing data from the SBV Payment Department, KBSV said that as of September 2022, the banking industry has invested VND15 trillion in digital transformation activities and has brought about positive results.

Specifically, in the first half of 2022, non-cash payment transactions increased by 29.8% over the same period in value, via internet increased by 32.3%, via mobile phones increased by 84.3% and QR code increased 127%. Many Vietnamese banks have achieved 90% of transactions conducted via digital channels, exceeding the target set in Decision 810/QD-NHNN 2021 on the digital transformation plan of 70% by 2025.

According to KBSV, the banking industry has initially received obvious improvements, improving cost control thanks to digital transformation.

The average CIR index of the banking group as of the first 9 months of 2022 reached 35.1%, much lower than in 2017 at 49.9%. Services related to opening payment accounts, transferring money, and sending savings have all been fully digitized to help the conductor's goods purchase and sale activities continue normally during the Covid-19 pandemic. is also a big result from digital transformation.

In addition, according to research by Roland Berger 2021, the time for disbursement approval for loans is significantly improved after banks implement digital transformation, especially for consumer lending customers. . This study shows the promise of major changes in the banking industry after digital transformation is complete.

However, the analysis team said that digital transformation of the banking industry is certainly not an easy story, even for developed countries.

Despite the positive results, comprehensive digital transformation still faces many challenges. In particular, lending activities in Vietnam through digital banks are facing many difficulties in implementation.

According to KBSV, there are 5 difficult factors that banks need to solve, including: (1) Legal corridor, old laws are still flawed and inconsistent; (2) Large information technology investment capital; (3) Time to train personnel to get used to and adapt to the digital environment; (4) Cybersecurity; (5) Customers' perception of using digital products.

With the support of major shareholder FPT Corporation - the leading information technology corporation in Vietnam, KBSV believes that TPBank has great competitive advantages in digital transformation.

Accordingly, TPBank is one of the first banks to implement digital transformation and has recorded remarkable results. The number of individual customers registering new Ebank in the first half of 2022 reached 1,156 million people, an increase of 5.3 times compared to the same period in 2021. EBank transaction turnover reached VND 518.669 billion, an increase of 170.4%.

In the corporate customer segment, the number of eBank registered customers reached 3,329 customers, an increase of 64.8%, bringing the total number of active customers to 35,716.

Besides, TPBank mobile and TPBank livebank are continuously updated and expanded over the years. Along with that, TPBank is also the first bank in Vietnam to deploy eKYC with 3 types: for customers, for bank staff and for connecting partners.

According to KBSV, with the support of FPT, TPBank can handle the risks/challenges well and this will be a great competitive advantage of the bank in the digital transformation.