Hanoi, 25th October 2019 - Today, the State Bank of Vietnam and German Cooperation Development Agency GIZ co-organise an International Symposium on “Digital transformation in banking and finance system towards financial inclusion and sustainable development”. The Symposium is held within the framework of the Macroeconomic Reforms/Green Growth Programme, implemented by GIZ Viet Nam on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The technology wave from the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has made a strong impact on all socio-economic sectors. In the banking industry, new technologies and innovations have brought about numerous changes in business models, business processes, product and service structures; first and foremost provide banking and financial products that are suitable to the needs of people as well as businesses, at the same time contribute to the promotion of financial inclusion and sustainable development.

As stated by the State Bank of Vietnam, mobile payment in Vietnam during the first 8 months of 2019 saw a surge of 150% and 100% in value and number of transactions, respectively, comparing to the the same period last year. According to PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019 for 27 countries/territories, Vietnam has seen the highest growth in mobile payments in 2019, with the percentage of consumers using these services increasing to 61%, up from 37% in 2018.

Speaking at the Workshop, Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Anh, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam emphasizes that the digital transformation in the banking-finance system is inevitable. In Vietnam, the banking industry is said to be one of the leading sectors in applying innovations and achievements of the Industrial Revolution 4.0; the regulatory and policy framework, as well as the technology infrastructure has been continuously improved.

On his part, Dr. Sebastian Paust, First Counsellor, Head of Development Cooperation at German Embassy in Hanoi, emphasizes the effective cooperation between Germany and Vietnam through the long-standing parnership between GIZ and the State Bank of Vienam, especially in associating digital transformation with sustainable development goals and financial inclusion. He also introduces Germany’s development cooperation strategy in supporting digital transformation and says that BMZ has significantly increased its funding for digital projects in the field of development cooperation. He also expresses the commitment to continue and support Vietnam, particularly the Vietnamese banking and finance system, to successfully implement digital transformation programmes.

Dr. Michael Krakowski, Programme Director and Chief Technical Advisor of the Macroeconomic Reforms/Green Growth Programme says: “Digitalisation in the context of industry 4.0 and rapid changes in technologies has great potential to help achieve the objectives of green economic growth and sustainable development”. He also expresses the commitment to contribute to the development and improvement of the policy and regulatory framework on digital finance-banking and Fintech in Vietnam.