Some key opportunity areas identified in this report for Swiss fintech players include:
- Collaboration with Banks: A recent survey by the State Bank of Vietnam revealed that 95% of Vietnamese banks have developed a strategy for digital transformation and stayed active in adopting new technologies. They have been investing in digital platforms not only for retail customers but for small- and medium-sized enterprises, large enterprises, and wealth management services, presenting opportunities for Swiss financial technology providers.
- Payments: Payments is currently the leading fintech segment in terms of players and investment. Despite the competition, there is potential scope for new players to tap the payments landscape in Vietnam or to collaborate with local payment sector players.
- Lending/Financing: P2P lending is witnessing an increasing demand in Vietnam. Several fintech firms have been seeking to address the lending gap. Having said that, conditions are still favourable for lending/financing fintech start-ups to explore and establish their presence in this segment. There could also be opportunities to offer innovative solutions to the local P2P lenders for purposes such as credit scoring.
- Personal finance and investment: Vietnam is registering a wave of new investors in the stock market. However, some of them lack fundamental knowledge of capital markets and rely on investment suggestions from family and friends. This brings an opportunity for fintech firms to develop solutions to educate customers and assist them in supervising their daily spending.
- Blockchain and cryptocurrency: Blockchain adoption is expected to increase in Vietnam in the upcoming years. The country also has a considerable ICT workforce that is willing to embrace blockchain and benefit from its applications.
According to the report released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, Vietnam’s digital financial services revenue is forecasted to reach USD 3.8 billion (CHF 3.4 billion) by 2025 from USD 0.5 billion (CHF 0.45 billion) in 2019, rising at a CAGR of 38%. Venture capitalists are particularly keen towards sub-sectors such as digital payments, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, credit scoring, and personal finance, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City emerging as fintech and technology hubs.
As per the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), which is the central bank of Vietnam, personal credit will account for about 24% of the domestic fintech market by 2025. The country’s market is dominated by enterprises operating on a B2C (Business to Consumer) basis, with the B2B (Business to Business) market poised for growth.
Vietnam’s increased per capita income and population surge create favourable conditions for investment. Vietnam is ranked seventh among nine nations with the fastest-growing middle-class population in the coming decade. With strong growth projections and a growing middle class, investors see long-term potential in the country’s fintech sector.
Vietnam is striving to create a progressive legal framework for the fintech industry, and the government has drafted various decrees to establish a regulatory sandbox for fintech activities.
As per Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank), more than 60% of the population continue to live in rural areas and have limited access to modern banking services, signifying opportunity for fintech start-ups intending to deliver financial services to these segments.
As part of its efforts to improve financial services, the Vietnamese government aims to increase the percentage of adults with a bank account from 66% in 2022 to 80% by 2025.
