The financial industry is on the brink of major change.
For decades, banks have innovated around capabilities: streamlining transactions, expanding access, and deploying digital tools.
But the rules of the game have changed. Today, digital and omnichannel alone is no longer enough.
In this hyper-connected, customer-centric era where Spotify-like immediacy and Netflix-like personalization reign, the question is: how deeply do you engage with your customers?
Techcom BankVietnam’s fifth-largest bank by assets and second-largest private bank, answered the call clearly and confidently.
In just a few years, they have redefined not only their organization, but what it means to be successful in the modern banking industry.
This is more than just a success story. This is a wake-up call for an industry that can no longer rely on yesterday’s strategies to meet tomorrow’s demands.
Vietnam: Asia’s fastest growing digital economy
The evolution of Vietnam’s banks does not exist in isolation. It is being driven by the incredible pace of the country’s digital transformation.
Established as Asia’s fastest-growing digital economy, Vietnam’s young, tech-savvy population and explosive growth in digital adoption are causing seismic shifts across industries.
More than 70% of the population is now online, and internet and mobile penetration rates are steadily increasing year on year.
Digital lifestyles are becoming the norm, with e-commerce, ride-hailing services, digital wallets, and even online education reshaping the way Vietnamese consumers interact with businesses.
At the same time, the adoption of digital banking is rapidly increasing, with some estimates suggesting that by 2025, more than 60% of the population will be actively using digital banking services.
This rapid transformation is being driven by government efforts to create a cashless society and consumers and businesses’ growing desire for convenience.
Vietnam’s SMEs, which account for nearly 40% of GDP, are also promoting innovative financial solutions to help them grow in the digital competitive environment.
In this context, banks face an urgent challenge: evolve or take on extraneous risks.
For Techcombank, this meant not just digitizing processes, but fundamentally rethinking the very nature of banking to meet the demands of a rapidly changing digital economy.
Rethinking banking for a customer-centric world
Banking as we know it has always involved transactions: opening accounts, applying for loans, sending money.
But Techcombank has turned that model on its head. They are embracing a new philosophy of banking as an experience rather than a service.
Every decision Techcombank makes reflects our deep understanding of our customers’ evolving needs.
By focusing on relationships rather than transactions, they turned mundane processes into meaningful interactions.
A payment is more than just a payment. This is your chance to deepen your trust. Apps are more than just tools. It’s your gateway to personalized banking.
Feedback is more than just feedback. It’s about learning to make services more human.
Technology is at the core of enabling a people-first mindset. Engagement banking platforms give banks the freedom and control to build hyper-personalized, contextually relevant, and deeply engaging experiences quickly and confidently.
This platform is more than just a backend solution, it creates reusability and acceleration as the backbone of a customer-centric revolution.
From Vision to Execution: The Techcombank Handbook
Techcombank’s transformation began with a bold realization that traditional banking systems could not keep up with the pace of change.
The agency needed a foundation that offered flexibility, scalability, and the ability to anticipate customer needs before they occurred.
The solution was not just technical, but philosophical.
result? In just over a year, millions of customers have been migrated to a single unified platform.
This wasn’t a cosmetic upgrade. This was a complete overhaul of how banking works, from infrastructure to interfaces.
Think about it. 90% of Techcombank’s payment transactions are now done via mobile.
The company’s retail and business banking apps both boast 4.8-4.9 star ratings across app stores. This is not just a vanity indicator, but evidence of our relentless pursuit of customer delight.
For corporate customers underserved by traditional banking, Techcombank simplifies the once-difficult process of account opening and financial management, offering seamless transactions similar to those found in retail stores. .
And the results speak for themselves. In 2023 alone, Techcombank acquired more than 2 million fully digital customers.
These are more than just numbers. These are what happens when visionaries in banking – Chief Digital Officer Pranav Seth and Retail Banking VP of Digital Banking Mukesh Piranha dare to reimagine themselves. is specifically shown.
Banking 4.0: The industry’s defining moment
Techcombank’s story is not just about their success, but also the lens through which they look to the future of banking. Welcome to Banking 4.0. This is a time when customer centricity is no longer the differentiator. That’s the baseline.
This new era demands more than just access to digital banking services. It’s about rethinking what it means to be a bank.
It’s about meeting customers where they are, not just physically but emotionally and situationally, whether it’s during life moments, life events, daily transactions, or important financial decisions. is important.
The goal is no longer to provide a service, but to create curated experiences that matter.
However, I want to be clear: this is not about features or functionality. It’s about purpose.
Techcombank’s journey shows that tomorrow’s banks must anticipate needs, humanize interactions and make banking an integral part of customers’ lives.
Techcombank is gradually evolving to build transformative relationships with its customers, delivering on the promise of its mission: “Transforming Banking, Changing Lives.”
This transformation will not be easy. It requires investment, bold decisions and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Techcombank embodies the foresight to embrace disruption before it is disrupted
Platform: A silent vehicle for change
Why adopt an engagement banking platform instead of building everything in-house from backend to frontend? The answer is simple. Build differentiation, not hygiene or infrastructure.
In today’s fast-paced banking environment, the complexity of managing hundreds of microservices, interlocking technology layers, front-to-back orchestration, and data integration has become a fundamental requirement, or hygiene element.
Banks that try to tackle both the back-end and front-end run the risk of becoming too diversified.
The real differentiation and experiential breakthroughs are in upstream processes, faster tracking of new feature releases that address emerging concerns, simpler navigation, and customer engagement where conversational banking creates lasting impact.
Behind every seamless customer journey and innovative interaction is a robust platform that orchestrates end-to-end engagement across the customer lifecycle.
An engagement banking platform is not just a tool, it’s a strategic architecture.
This allows banks to quickly design, adapt, and scale experiences as customer expectations change.
Whether you want to take advantage of out-of-the-box journeys or create a bespoke experience, the choice is in your bank’s hands.
For Techcombank, this meant freedom – the freedom to design a journey that reflected Vietnam’s culture, tastes and nuances.
You have the freedom to prototype, test, and improve without being tied down by legacy systems. Growth freedom with consistent double-digit growth year after year without expanding headcount.
This is the quiet revolution behind Techcombank’s success. This is also a warning to the industry. The right platform doesn’t just support your vision. It amplifies it.
Challenge to the industry
Techcombank’s transformation proves what is possible when ambition and execution meet. But their stories are not only an inspiration, but also a challenge for all financial leaders.
Are you ready to embrace the future? Are you ready to overhaul your organization and put customer engagement at the center of everything you do?
The financial landscape is changing, and the pace of change is only accelerating. Vietnam’s phenomenal growth offers a glimpse into the future of any emerging market.
Techcombank has shown that staying ahead isn’t about following trends, it’s about defining them.
Read the Techcombank success story by Pranav Seth here.
