FinTech can support providing additional useful data sources for banks, which can help banks build credit scoring models and provide appropriate and automatic credit limits. Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

HÀ NỘI — Close coordination between banks and FinTech companies is necessary to promote financial inclusion in Việt Nam, experts said.

According to a report on financial inclusion in Việt Nam, released recently by consulting firm Ernst & Young Vietnam (EY Vietnam), more than 62 per cent of the population live in rural areas.

This means they still have difficulties in accessing credit from official financial and banking channels.

The EY Vietnam survey showed that 42 per cent of respondents had to rely on unofficial services within the past year, which exposed them to high costs and greater financial risks.

Micro-enterprises and business households also face challenges in accessing capital from banks due to insufficient collateral or incomplete credit records.

Vice Chairman of the Military Bank’s board of directors, Vũ Thành Trung, said that FinTech can support banks by providing additional, useful data sources, enabling them to build credit scoring models and offer appropriate, automatic credit limits.

On the importance of cooperation between banks and FinTech companies, Nguyễn Thùy Dương, chairwoman of EY Vietnam’s board of directors, said that, despite remarkable achievements, financial inclusion is still a long way off. Strengthening cooperation between traditional credit institutions and FinTech companies, developing the open banking model, and improving financial literacy are all pressing needs.

Dương added that the legal framework needs to be strengthened and expanded, especially regarding the approval and implementation of a sandbox - a controlled environment for financial institutions and fintech startups to test new products and services - to support innovation and manage risks associated with new financial technologies.

With advantages such as advanced technology infrastructure, diverse products, effectively data utilisation, a streamlined payment system, and robust business management tools, FinTech is popularising financial and banking services and improving access for Vietnamese people, particularly disadvantaged groups.

Sharing the same view, Nguyễn Bá Diệp, co-founder of MoMo e-wallet, said FinTech has become an important driver of financial inclusion by narrowing the gap and expanding access to financial and banking services. It achieve this by broadening service scope, reducing operating costs, and integrating creative and innovative customer-focused solutions.

Cooperation between traditional financial institutions and Fintech companies could be a promising direction for the financial market in the future, he said. Together, they could aim to build a financial inclusion system where low-income people, micro-enterprises and business households actively and fully participate in the national financial system. — VNS