The study finds that 94 per cent of financial institutions in Vietnam plan to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, signalling strong intent to scale AI capabilities despite ongoing structural challenges. Institutions are prioritising AI to improve payment and lending processing speed, strengthen risk management, enhance decision-making and boost developer productivity.

The Finastra Financial Services State of the Nation 2026 report shows that 7 in 10 institutions in Vietnam have actively deployed AI, particularly in areas of customer service and support, marketing and customer communication, and software development/IT, reflecting a clear shift from experimentation to execution.

At the same time, the research highlights that technology modernisation and security have moved to the top of the agenda. Financial institutions in Vietnam are investing in modern data platforms and real-time threat monitoring to address rising digital risk, tighter regulatory scrutiny, and growing reliance on technology across core operations.

The 2026 research surveyed senior professionals at financial institutions and banks across France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE, UK, the US and Vietnam.

Other key findings highlight several shifts across the financial services sector.

Customer experience becomes the front line. 42 per cent of financial institutions say improved service and more personalised experiences and the security and privacy of personal and corporate data are now their customers’ top demands. These reinforce how critical customer experience and security have become, to competitiveness and trust.

Industry confidence remains strong. Despite disruption, optimism is exceptionally high. 99 per cent of respondents report high levels of optimism about the opportunities ahead at a personal level, while 96 per cent are optimistic about the outlook for their institutions as technology and operating models continue to evolve.

Modernisation has moved to the top of the agenda. 9 in 10 respondents plan to invest in modernisation over the next 12 months, driven by the need to scale AI, strengthen resilience, and deliver superior customer experience.

Cloud adoption underpins modern transformation. Nearly three-quarters of institutions have most, if not, all their software stack in the cloud, reflecting the cloud’s role in lowering costs, increasing scalability, and enabling personalisation, compliance, and faster innovation.

“Technology decisions now sit at the centre of trust, resilience, and customer experience,” said Chris Walters, CEO at Finastra. "Vietnamese financial institutions are clearly committed to scaling AI, but this research shows that success will depend on strengthening security, modernising legacy systems, and building reliable foundations that AI needs to deliver value safely and consistently."

“We look forward to working closely with our customers as strategic partners as they navigate this new landscape with modern, secure and innovative software solutions.”