At Vietnam Digital Finance 2026 in Hanoi on September 24, hosted by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), two parallel sessions addressed key issues in the sector's digitalisation.

At the session "Transforming Financial Services in the Age of AI," experts focused on moving digital transformation from strategy to implementation, while addressing challenges from large-scale AI deployment – from data governance and security to customer data protection and new operating models for financial services.

Nguyen Minh Ngoc, deputy director general of the Department of Information Technology and Digital Transformation under the Ministry of Finance, said the entire financial sector is currently providing 563 fully online public services and 95 partially online services, in line with Decision No.301/QD-BTC issued on February 12.

The fully online services have been integrated with VNeID accounts, allowing individuals to access them through the National Public Service Portal.

"The MoF has also completed the upgrade of the Information System for Administrative Procedure Settlement, making it ready to connect, share, and synchronise data and provide electronic results," Ngoc said. "Eligible procedures and public services have been configured for nationwide deployment in taxation, customs, business registration, procurement, and tax identification number issuance, with a strong shift from manual to electronic processing that helps reduce compliance costs for individuals and businesses."

“The ultimate goal is to modernise systems and improve the efficiency of state management, reform administrative procedures, enhance the quality of services provided to individuals and businesses, while ensuring cybersecurity, information security, and national data sovereignty,” he added.

Ministry of Finance official Nguyen Minh Ngoc at Vietnam Digital Finance 2026. Photo: IEC Group

The MoF launched a pilot scheme in June to develop a shared AI platform for the entire financial sector, aiming to automate business processes, improve processing efficiency, facilitate data retrieval and analysis, and support management and services for individuals and businesses.

"A survey across 23 units identified 150 AI application needs, consolidated into 80 use cases and 11 AI applications," Ngoc said. "These figures indicate that AI is being approached as a shared ecosystem rather than through individual units developing separate applications."

Alongside this, Ngoc said the development of the National Financial Database under Architecture Version 2.0 is an important foundation for connecting, integrating, and sharing data, with a view to building Smart Finance.

“However, an AI ecosystem can only develop sustainably when it is underpinned by high-quality data, robust governance, privacy protection, information security, and accountability,” he said. “Therefore, the challenge before us is not simply to deploy AI faster, but to build an intelligent, open, connected and trusted financial ecosystem in which technology serves people, data creates value, and innovation goes hand in hand with safety and transparency.”

Colonel Nguyen Thi Son Binh, deputy director of the Digital Enterprise Solutions Centre at Viettel Telecom, stressed that in the financial and banking sector, Viettel views digital transformation as a process of redesigning operating models, enhancing customer experience, optimising costs, and effectively harnessing the power of data.

“To build an intelligent, secure, connected, and sustainable digital financial system, Viettel is focusing on developing digital transformation capabilities around two pillars: digital infrastructure and digital technologies,” said Binh. “Digital infrastructure serves as the foundation for digital finance, ensuring that financial and banking activities operate stably, continuously, and securely. If digital infrastructure provides the foundation, digital technologies are the driving force for creating new value and differentiation.”

Colonel Nguyen Thi Son Binh of Viettel Telecom's Digital Enterprise Solutions Centre. Photo: IEC Group

According to Binh, Viettel provided an infrastructure ecosystem encompassing telecommunications, connectivity and transmission infrastructure; Viettel Cloud; data centres and storage infrastructure; information security and cybersecurity; as well as system integration and connectivity platforms and digital platforms.

“For banks and financial institutions, digital infrastructure needs to meet stringent requirements for availability, scalability, security, and operational continuity,” she added. “On that foundation, Viettel aims to help financial institutions proactively develop digital services, optimise technology resources, and strengthen their operational capabilities.”

In digital technologies, Viettel focuses on developing capabilities in big data, AI, integration platforms, and digital identity, alongside specialised software solutions and digital transformation solutions.

“These technologies are applied to harness and analyse data, support decision-making, automate processes, connect systems and data, strengthen authentication, and transaction security, while also digitalising management and operations and enhancing customer experience,” Binh said.

Among the solutions offered by Viettel, Insight Report has been developed to help financial institutions leverage data to gain a more in-depth understanding of the market and make informed decisions amid increasingly intense competition.

“Based on telecommunications data within the scope permitted for exploitation, Insight Report provides insights into customer characteristics, trends and behaviour, thereby supporting market analysis and the identification of customer groups, geographic areas and potential business opportunities,” she said. “The solution also provides data to support the monitoring and analysis of competitors, the study of competitive trends and business planning. On that basis, financial institutions can supplement their information sources in developing strategies, developing products and optimising resources.”