Vietnam fintech sector in the fast lane

Out of the 154 fintech startups, 37 operate in payments, 25 in P2P lending and 22 in blockchain and crypto and remittance, according to a survey by the Banking Technology Development Research Institute (BTI), National University of Ho Chi Minh City, released at a fintech conference in HCMC on Monday.

The rapid growth of fintech has transformed the financial and banking sector by offering consumers more convenient products and services.

Fintech companies in Vietnam are likely to continue encroaching on the retail market share of traditional banks, with peer-to-peer lending, e-wallets, payment and cashless payments becoming an integral part of everyday life, the report noted.

However, areas such as asset management, liquidity management, investment management, insurance, and automated advisory services are still in their infancy, it added.

Hoang Cong Gia Khanh, director of BTI, said: "Because 70 percent of Vietnam’s fintech companies are still startups, it will be difficult to have large-scale fintech firms even with foreign capital."

Some 70 percent of them have foreign backers both from developed countries such as Singapore, Japan, the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., Denmark, and France and neighboring countries such as China and Malaysia, he added.

Vietnamese fintech companies also face challenges like cybersecurity, human resource training and others.

Startups in fintech received more investment -- $117 million -- than in any other industry in Vietnam last year, according to startup accelerator program Topica Founder Institute.

The country’s fintech market was valued at $4.4 billion in 2017 and is predicted to grow to $7.8 billion by 2020, according to market research firm Solidiance.