VietNamNet Bridge - Consumers’ rapid adoption of new technologies have forced commercial banks to invest big money to renovate technologies. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of bank officers fear they may lose jobs because of technology upgrades.

A Vietcombank senior executive said the bank spends tens of millions of dollars every year on technology renovation. A survey found that the bank had 2 million new clients using electronic banking services.

In the last two years, a mid-tier bank has been running an important technology renovation project. The services created within the framework of the project were launched in mid-2016, targeting young customers, who use smart mobile devices with new approaches. 

Many services can be provided on the web, while results are given in non-traditional space, like a café. The project is expected to help the bank list itself among top-tier banks.

A series of digital banking services have been deployed by commercial banks, from internet banking, SMS banking and mobile banking to heavily invested projects.

Consumers’ rapid adoption of new technologies have forced commercial banks to invest big money to renovate technologies. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of bank officers fear they may lose jobs because of technology upgrades.

Joining forces with FinTechs, commercial banks have been providing many services such as TM, MoMO, Sen Pay and 123Pay. 

Maritime Bank provides integrated service packages, not just internet banking. VietCapitalBank allows online depositing, while Vietcombank provides services on bill and tax payments. TP Bank brings multi-utility services with a combination of internet banking and mobile banking.

According to Doughlas Jackson from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the application of digital banking is foreseeable. The young population is seen as the potential client for digital services.

William Anthony Jennings, vice chair of the Hanoi-based Institute of Manpower, Banking and Finance (BTCI) also thinks that it is now the time for digital banking, predicting that more banks would operate digital banking systems in the time to come. About 50 percent of clients say they want to switch to digital technology.

However, while experts believe that digital banking is a must, they warn that not all banks can do this because of hurdles in financial capability and technology utilization. 

Douglas Jackson from BCG said BCG conducted a survey on 200 financial institutions, and found they faced difficulties. Many banks have set up roadmap for digital banking, but they lack a long term vision about digital technology. 

Many other reasons have also been cited, including the insufficient solutions with interface and systems that are not integrated; poor infrastructure; discrete processing procedure and system and lack of updated data. Also, Vietnamese are still reliant on cash transactions. 

Experts warned that technologies would replace tens of thousands of workers.

Viet Ha