Bridging the Gap

Elevating Your Customer’s Digital Banking Norms

Vietnam stands at the cusp of a digital revolution. For 2025, the Vietnamese banking industry has set a growth target of 16%, which could potentially push the economy’s credit balance to exceed 18.1 quadrillion VND. With the Vietnam FinTech market expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.23%, the World Financial Innovation Series (WFIS) once again highlights how technology could reshape Vietnam’s banking industry, poised to transform its financial landscape through fintech innovation. This digital revolution, however, is not without challenges. Legacy systems and regulatory ambiguities create significant hurdles, while cultural resistance to change further complicates progress. To help better appreciate and elevate Vietnamese digital banking norms, Temenos and our partners, Systems and Formpipe, jointly participated in the World Financial Innovation Series 2025, where we engaged senior bankers across the banking landscape in Vietnam in understanding how they are bridging the gap and accelerating the country’s fintech evolution. In this blog article, I share some key reflections based on our interactions in Hanoi.

Supporting Vietnam’s Digital Economy Growth

During the conference, we were privileged to engage with the gathered banking industry leaders and discuss Vietnam’s banking environment. Considering the Vietnamese government’s focus on the banking industry to support Vietnam’s infrastructure development, Vietnamese banks are anticipating a growth in credit of up to 15% in 2025, with the State Bank of Vietnam closely monitoring credit growth to ensure sufficient resources for the economy while maintaining stability. Vietnam also have primary goals for banking sector transformation, particularly in the digital transformation space, and this momentum provides a basis for an increasing demand for digital-first solutions from large commercial banks to microfinance operators. The need for flexible and scalable systems has never been greater for the Vietnamese market. Temenos, celebrating our latest win with our 29^th new client in Vietnam, continues to be the platform of choice for Vietnamese banks. Our core banking platform—already utilised by notable players such as SacomBank, LP Bank, PVCom Bank, and Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank—was highlighted as a key driver of growth and innovation. The platform’s single-code, modular design allows banks to serve multiple segments, including retail, corporate, and wealth management, while ensuring adaptability to Vietnam’s unique market conditions. Our experience with some of the leading global banks has showcased how banks leverage Temenos’ technology to scale operations rapidly, from a handful of branches to nationwide networks, while introducing new services such as trade finance, treasury functions, and digital channels. This ability to expand quickly and efficiently enables local banks to serve customers better and contribute to banks from Europe to the Americas and the Middle East as they pursue broader economic development.

Cloud and SaaS Capabilities Driving Scalability and Flexibility

The shift toward cloud-based banking models and SaaS delivery was another hot conversational point. Given some of the notable challenges like senior leadership buy-ins, regulatory hurdles and a culture that is warming up to the notion of cloud-based banking models, it is observed that Vietnamese banks are currently positioned on traditional on-premises systems. At the same time, their global counterparts have embraced the cloud adoption trend. It is notable, however, that some Vietnamese banks are making strides on the cloud frontier. Driven by its successful adoption of Amazon Q Developer, Techcombank is strengthening its partnership with Temenos Cloud Partner AWS to accelerate innovation and efficiency further and contribute to the government’s new era of national growth. Another notable bank in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam International Bank (VIB), is also a pioneer in digital banking innovation, having decided to move to Temenos’ latest version of the banking platform, powered by AWS. VIB will implement the latest Core banking version R23 from Temenos on the AWS cloud and VIB’s private cloud platforms, marking it as the first bank to deploy the Temenos Core banking system on a cloud computing platform in Vietnam. The project is a collaboration with ITSS, a technology solutions and IT services company from Switzerland. It marks VIB’s significance as the first bank to implement the Temenos Core Banking solution on the Cloud in Vietnam.

In our engagements with senior banking executives at the WFIS, Temenos once again shed light on our scalable cloud architecture, designed to help Vietnamese financial institutions migrate away from legacy systems while gaining flexibility, enhanced security, and operational efficiency. We also reaffirmed our long-term commitment to supporting Vietnam’s financial institutions as they embrace digital transformation. With AI, cloud computing, and SaaS models at the centre of this evolution, we are excited about the significant opportunities for banks to improve service delivery and financial inclusion. As Vietnam’s economy continues to expand and the demand for modern banking services grows, Temenos and its partners are positioned to provide the technology, expertise, and support necessary to drive Vietnam’s financial sector forward, ensuring it remains competitive, innovative, and inclusive in the years to come.

AI and Embedded Intelligence Powering the Future of Banking

Another hot topic of interest to the gathered banking executives was the application of AI in Vietnamese banking operations. AI is seen as a game-changer, possibly for fraud detection, KYC processes, and customer experience. Our conversation highlighted that data integration (e.g., CRM systems like Salesforce) could be critical for AI effectiveness but remains challenging due to fragmented systems. Quantum computing was also discussed as a future disruptor, given the potential for a large-scale expansion of AI into daily banking processes.

We also explored the transformative impact of AI and embedded intelligence within modern banking systems. Our discussions highlighted how AI capabilities could be deeply integrated into banking platforms, supporting automated decision-making, predictive analytics, and customer personalisation. Advanced tools, such as AI copilots, pricing engines, and multi-agent large language models (LLMs), are also added-on enablers that Vietnamese banks can adopt to enhance operational speed, reduce costs, and offer more targeted products and services. These features enhance internal processes and improve customer engagement and experience.

Conclusion

Considering the drive, passion, and momentum we see in Vietnam’s banking sector, Vietnam’s banking industry is poised for exciting times ahead! Despite challenges like legacy systems and regulatory hurdles, we believe that fintech innovation will continue to reshape the banking industry. The Vietnamese government’s focus on digital transformation is driving an impetus for a re-examination of the potential of the cloud in answering the demand for scalable, cloud-based solutions. It is also heartening to know that Vietnamese banks like Techcombank and VIB are leading the shift to cloud platforms like AWS, paving the way for a possible future where AI can become a key enabler for fraud detection, customer experience, and operational efficiency. With our modular core banking platform, Temenos remains steadfast in supporting Vietnam’s financial institutions in enhancing flexibility, security, and innovation, ensuring long-term competitiveness and financial inclusion. We look forward to meeting our industry partners and community again at WFIS 2026. See you in Vietnam!