According to Vietcombank, 94 percent of banks in Vietnam are investing in digitisation and 42 percent of them consider digital baking a top priority. (Photo courtesy of HDBank)HCM City (VNS/VNA) — Challenges related to network security, customertrust and an inadequate legal framework are road blocks to the digitaltransformation of Vietnamese banks, experts told a recent conference in HCM City.
Speaking at Vietnam Banking Conference: Digital Banking, Le Anh Dung, deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department, said,“In Vietnam, security risks such as fraud, customer fraud, network attacks onbank infrastructure, and user data leakage are rising.”
According to Ernst & Young Vietnam, 8,319 cyber attacksoccurred on banks last year and 560,000 computers were affected by malwarescapable of stealing bank account information.
Banks faced losses of 642 million USD caused by computerviruses, while only 52 percent of customers worried about security while usingonline banking.
Nguyen Hung Nguyen, deputy general director of NationalPayment Services Vietnam (NAPAS), said, “[The lack of] customer trust is alsoan obstacle in digital banking.”
He said 90 percent of payments for e-commerce transactionsare done through cash-on-delivery because customers do not trust sellers anddeliverers.
Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, director of Vietcombank’s e-bankingservices development department in HCM City, agreed with Nguyen about thepreponderance of cash.
“Vietnamese have kept the habit of using cash for a longtime. The habit of buying online is gradually forming but the common paymentform is still COD.”
According to Vietcombank, 94 percent of banks in Vietnamare investing in digitisation and 42 percent of them consider digital baking atop priority.
Around 30 percent of the country’s population have a bankaccount and 70 percent have smart phones connected to the internet. However,only 20 percent of customers make online transactions.
Experts at the conference also focused on the lack ofregulations governing digital services.
Hang noted the lack of legal framework for data sharing,storage and exploitation, while Nguyen said the Government should create a framework for aregulatory sandbox for applying new digital technologies.
He also called for drafting regulations for fintech to serveunderbanked customers.
As for the legal framework, Dung said the Government shouldinstruct relevant ministries and departments to create a national database onthe population and allow opening, sharing and connecting with services such asbanking, telecommunications and insurance.
The Government should create a legal framework for user datasecurity and information security to create a safe and reliable digitaltransaction system, he added.-VNS/VNA
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