Fintech as financial technology is innovative ways of technology in design and delivery of financial services in intermediary payment, crowdfunding, peer to peer lending, blockchain, big data, etc which have been happening in Vietnam over the last several years. It is important for the fintech companies to research and understand the Vietnam market from different perspective to have a proper market entry plan into Vietnam, taking advantage of habit of using smart phone, internet of young Vietnamese.
Changes in fintech have greatly contributed to access of financial service decrease transfer fees, enhance on clearance and simple, more convenient and effective products, control effectively expenses and incomes.
Understanding the benefits of fintech, since 2017, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) established a Steering Committee on Financial Technology of the SBV, advising the Governor on solutions to improve the ecosystem, including legal framework to facilitate the development of fintech businesses in Vietnam, in line with the Government’s guidelines and orientations.
From practical perspective, fintech companies operating in Vietnam have to meet the legal requirements upon establishment license, enterprise registration certificate, service plan and obtain approval and permits. In addition, charter capital, human resources, facilities, technical infrastructure, IT system need to be considered when operating the financial technology to ensure the security for customers’ information and the safety of the whole system.
In the technology boom with the Industrial Resolution 4.0, electronic payment methods have become a popular trend all over the world. In Vietnam, this market is not really grown as much as other countries, but it is considered to be very potential.
The fintech sector in Vietnam is relatively new despite the intermediary payment companies’ appearance was from 2008. There are up to 90% in payments performed in cash in Vietnam. Concerns of applying financial technology in Vietnam includes business risk, network risk and compliance risk from stakeholders. Along with the systemic risk, operating risk increases with the scale of system expansion. The entry of fintech companies into banking sector adds to the complexity of the system, as most new fintech businesses lack of experience in information technology.
Looking at positive sign, Vietnam is currently considered as a market space to develop fintech products that meet the demand. The State Bank of Vietnam shall take many actions to support fintech companies to meet customers’ increasingly diverse needs, but it is important to stay complied with the current legal frameworks on financial technology.
Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.
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