Market ready for Fintech

Financial technology firms from the UK are looking to bring their payment services to Vietnam
Photo: Le Toan

British Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever told VIR that the UK, a world leader in new types of technology to provide financial services, known as “Fintech”, was looking to embrace the Vietnamese market. “Vietnam is a very fast developing market, which is attracting many UK firms providing financial technology services.”

Last week, a group of seven leading UK Fintech companies came to Vietnam in search of local partners, including commercial banks, enterprises, and credit organisations. They offered numerous technologies able to revolutionalise fundraising, payment processes, and risk analysis. They met with over 50 Vietnamese firms.

The UK companies include Byoot Capital, Earthport, Korala Associates, PayPoint, The Floow, Misys International Financial Systems, and State Street Global Exchange.

Andrew Walden, head of International Business Development of PayPoint, said that Vietnam had an increasingly large consumer population, and strong cash payment habits. It was also ideal for developing digital payment solutions and digitising cash payments. PayPoint’s core service enables consumers to pay bills or top up mobile phones/prepaid energy meters, typically in cash through a network of 28,000 retailers.

“We wish to explore the potential of a similar service in Vietnam, meet potential partners, and position Vietnam relative to ASEAN markets,” Walden said.

Sharath Padmalochanan, KAL Southeast Asia manager of new-generation AMT software maker Kolara Associates, also said that KAL wanted to meet with the management executives of Vietnam’s commercial banks to discuss and identify the business, technical, and user requirements of the ATM channel of these banks.

“We want to position KAL’s world-class ATM multivendor software and retail teller machine (cashless ATM) to meet banks’ requirements,” Padmalochanan said.

Meanwhile, State Street Global Exchange, which provides software solutions in the area of banking data and analytics, currently has two clients in Vietnam, including Dragon Capital and VietFund Management.

“We want to meet similar clients to extend what is still a fresh footprint in the Vietnamese market. We have studied Vietnam’s legal framework, potential customers, and market demand,” said Frank Maltais, director of State Street Global Exchange’s Asia Pacific Sales and Business Development. “We offer software solutions, information, and data management, plus analytics that help you plot those results and manage risks for all asset classes.”

Additionally, Misys International Financial Systems is strategically seeking to develop and drive business growth in the Vietnamese market in Fintech across retail and corporate banking, lending, treasury, capital markets, investment management, and enterprise risk.

“Vietnam has a growing demand for open account assistance and supply chain finance,” said Brian Edmondson, global head of Misys’ Trade and Working Capital Finance. Misys has been providing many software solutions for BIDV, Military Bank, State Bank of Vietnam, Asia Commercial Bank, Maritime Bank, PVCom, and Techcombank.

According to the firms, Vietnam is well placed to develop financial technologies. With 23 million smart phones and 55 million mobile phone subscribers, Vietnam benefits from large demographic advantages, with a large proportion of the population growing up in the digital era.