Prudential Finance at the forefront of innovation

Atul Dixit, CEO of Prudential Finance, at the forefront of Vietnam Retail Banking Forum 2018

The events, which were held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28-29 with great success, provided a platform for expert-led sessions on knowledge economic trends shaping the region as well as technological developments that are geared to take the financial services industry to the next level.

The Vietnam Cyber Security Forum 2018 was organised by the Authority of Civil Cryptography Management and Cryptography Product Evaluation (the Vietnamese government’s Cypher Committee), the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team, the Authority of Cyber Security and Information Security (Ministry of Public Security), and the International Data Group (IDG Vietnam).

Now in its 10^th year, the Vietnam Retail Banking Forum 2018 – organised by the Vietnam Banks Association and IDG Vietnam – is one of the leading influential retail banking events in the country.

Senior executives and officials from government entities, financial regulators, banks, consultancies, technology companies, and other organisations gathered at New World Saigon Hotel to discuss the major challenges and opportunities the industry is facing.

Prudential Finance was represented by two members of its senior management team, Atul Dixit, CEO of Prudential Finance, and Dao Huu Phuc, head of Operations and IT.

Panel discussion: Digital technology platform in the development of banking and financial industry

The consumer financial services industry is going through dramatic changes as a consequence of changing customer behaviour, increasing expectations, channel proliferation, disruption, innovative use and adoption of new technologies, and the digitalisation of business and society in general.

Atul Dixit, CEO of Prudential Finance, said that turn-around-time (TAT) – which we can call “speed” – and ease of transaction and accessibility are the key driving forces of digital transformation. This will lead to better customer experience which will differentiate players in the consumer finance market.

In terms of top strategic digitalisation priorities as an organisation, the new era of customer-centric digital ecosystems demands leadership with a digital and tech-driven mindset.

Then we prioritise to enhance digital experience for customers;enhance data analytics capabilities; increase investment in advanced technology innovation; and improve components of security and authentication.

In addition, we strive to meet regulatory and compliance specifications; reduce operation cost; automate core business process; recruit or retain talents to meet changing needs.

CEO Dixit also highlighted that technology is critical in transforming us from managing customer data through underwriting to assessing credit risk.

Prudential Finance has been developing proactively and is using various risk management tools and technology such as in-house credit scoring system, automated loan processing system, productivity/quality monitoring system, and more.

In-house credit scoring system is utilised to make scientific decisions based on customer credit rating for loan approval, interest rate, and collection strategies.

Automated loan processing system enables businesses to ensure operation efficiency and fast turn-around time so customers can receive responses quickly without compromising operation risk as well as portfolio quality.

Prudential Finance is now working towards a more advanced level of credit risk management, such as building Credit Information System (CIS) and Business Strategy Management Solution (BSMS).

Together with all these efforts, Prudential Finance maintains a sustainable business model in the finance industry and provides the best level of customer experience.

Talking about the key benefits for customers fond of the digitalisation move, CEO Atul Dixit said that customers can easily apply for loans online, manage loan processing and maintenance such as checking repayment history anytime anywhere through their laptops, smart phones or tablets.

They can also select the most convenient channel of several choices to communicate with the company.

In the near future, customers can enjoy personalisation through product recommendation and selecting notifications online.

Currently, the company’s personal loan processing time is the shortest in the consumer finance industry.

“With investment in innovative technologies, we expect our customers to continue enjoying improving turn-around time as part of the great customer experience with Prudential Finance,” said Dixit.

Panel discussion: Challenges and solutions to information safety

Dao Huu Phuc, head of Operations and Technology, participated in panel discussion of Vietnam Cyber Security Forum 2018

As a speaker, Dao Huu Phuc, head of Operations and Technology of Prudential Finance, addressed concerns over data security through confidentiality in the cloud computing environment.

In general, information security and confidentiality in the cloud computing environment is a big and complicated topic.

End-users do not know where their data is stored, how transactions are processed, how encryption techniques are applied, and the like. There should be global standards and frameworks for data confidentiality in the cloud computing environment which cloud-based service providers will follow.

As a result, they can be qualified for those companies offering and transferring financial services to cloud computing environment, as well as attract end users.

In fact, most cloud-based service providers, recognised with many Security and Confidentiality Certificates, can offer a wide range of services to help protect the core system of financial companies.

Thus, provided with great support from those who have gained international recognition for data security as well as committed to comply with international and local regulations, security issues can be addressed and security risks can be minimised.

In Phuc’s words, in the current situation of Vietnam, information technology in general and financial services in particular are still undergoing globalisation and are expected to catch up with the rapid development of the world and developed countries in the region.

Relevant laws and regulations are also being enhanced to support the development of information technology and cloud trends.

“Therefore the development journey of cloud-based financial services needs to be started and improved in parallel with the development of IT infrastructure and legal regulations built to protect end-users and service providers as well.

In addition, the planning of transferring financial services to the cloud computing environment needs to be combined with risk management strategy,” Phuc said.

Financial institutions are recommended to review their internal regulations and technology investment to make sure of sufficient regulations in compliance with the laws and with several circulars issued by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Prudential Vietnam Finance Company Limited was the first fully foreign-owned consumer finance company, officially beginning operations in Vietnam in October 2007.

In recent years, Prudential Finance has pioneered providing customised financial consultancy and loan programmes to different customer segments.

With its widespread business network nationwide, the company has strong capabilities in serving customers with flexible financial solutions, enabling customers to fulfil their dreams and enhance their living standards.

Prudential Finance is highly honoured to serve hundreds of thousands of customers with more and more placing their trust in the company’s services.

Prudential Finance’s network comprises of its head office in Ho Chi Minh City, branches in Hanoi and Danang city, as well as transaction offices and service points across the country.

Prudential Finance was named “The Best Consumer Finance Company for Customer Service 2018” at The Global Banking & Finance Review Awards.