Developed nations in the world are operating the e-banking system and this is an inevitable tendency to save time, cost and human resource as well as intensify efficiency. Vietnam cannot stay out of such a tendency and most of Vietnamese banks have applied basic e-banking services.
E-banking in the world
An e-bank is operated on the platforms of internet banking (or online banking),telephone banking, TV-based banking, mobile phone banking PC banking (or offline banking), ATM (automated teller machine) channel. The common trend of the banking sector is the convergence of all aspects, including distribution channel, selling culture, back-office process and knowledge administration infrastructure which are integrated via electronic environment. Therefore, the e-banking is an inevitable trend. Mr Nguyen Duc Vinh, CEO of Techcombank, said the successful integration enables the bank to develop seamless and transparent product supply chain for customers. Then, the bank will shift its concentration, in a more perfect way, from products to customers.
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The annual Vietnam Banking Conference & Exhibition in 2007, or Banking Vietnam 2007, was jointly held by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) in coordination with the International Data Group (IDG). The event, themed “modern Vietnam banking system and international economic integration”, took place from May 31 to June 1 in Hanoi.
After six years, the Banking Vietnam has actually become an annual forum on science and technology. This is also a meeting and exchange place for Vietnamese banking managers with the international scientists in two fields of banking and IT. From this forum, enterprises had opportunities to introduce and advertise new technologies, synchronous solutions, security system and others.
Assessing the banking forum, Mr Noritaka Akamatsu, lead financial economist of the World Bank in Vietnam, said: “I am very impressive with the quantity and level of participators in this event. I see that this is a comprehensive event to discuss technological and economic issues, especially those in relation to the finance and banking. |
According to a survey by
Michael A. Stegman, policy expert of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US, the average cost for any traditional banking transaction over the counter in the US is US$1.07. With the application of new technologies, the similar transaction cost at an automatic bank is US$0.04 for a transaction via call/contact center, US$0.27 via ATM and US$0.01 via Internet banking service on any PC. This shows that transaction based on internet technology is more economical and efficient for the US banking system in reducing costs and improving the service quality for the current and potential clients on the globe.
In the UK and Europe, most customers use the Internet banking to check account balance, saving account and daily transaction reports. In Asia-Pacific, the Internet banking has been used in many nations like China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand. In China, the Bank of China encouraged the deployment of internet banking services since 2000. In Hong Kong, HSBC began providing Internet banking services in 2000, allowing its clients to deposit savings, invest in securities, pay service bills and carry out forex transactions. In Singapore, the Internet banking was debuted in 1997 and many multinational banks like Oversea Union Bank, DBS Bank, Citibank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are supplying internet banking services in this country. In Thailand, the Internet banking services made the start in 1995. Especially after the financial crisis in 1997, Thai banks were under the pressure of reducing costs and internet banking was an option to lower costs and increase customer satisfaction.
E-banking in Vietnam
From March 1995, Vietnam started with the electronic payment system from the participation of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) system. By May 2002, the interbank e-payment system made a debut, enabling the development of retail and wholesale banks. To date, most banks have applied basic e-banking services and ATM and POS transaction channels. Several foreign banks operated in Vietnam have provided e-banking services, including citibanking (Citibank), Hexagon (HSBC), DB-Direct (Deutsch Bank) and ANZ-link (ANZ Bank). However, these services are only limited to enterprises. Recently, the State Bank of Vietnam licensed Techcombank to provide an international standard Internet banking service (F@st i-Bank) in Vietnam for various types of clients, especially retail clients. Techcombank is also the first Vietnamese bank to provide internet banking payment services.
Mr Ta Quang Tien, Director of Banking IT Department under the State Bank, said: “At present, more than 80 per cent of banking professional services in Vietnam is processed by computers at different levels and 85 per cent of transactions between banks and their clients are handled by computers or modern devices. Compared with previous years, payments via electronic means and interactive communication channels in Vietnam develop very quickly.” 17 banks already deployed Internet banking services, with a combined 3-4.5 million online transaction every day. 25 banks also issued e-payment cards and the number of such cards has mounted to 6.2 million. In addition, 3,820 ATM machines are been erected in Vietnam.
Mr Bui Quang Tien, Director of Payment Department under the State Bank, added that with the desire of catching up with modern banking service and technology, the Vietnamese Government has set a target of issuing 15 million e-payment cards (ATM), installing e-payment systems at 70 per cent of commercial centres, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, do-it-your-self shops, etc by 2010. The respective figures will be 30 million cards and 95 per cent by 2020. Also by 2010, cash payment will not exceed 18 per cent and 80 per cent of business-to-business transactions will be made via banks.
Nguyen Thoa
Vietnamese
