Fintech in Microfinance: a new direction for Microfinance institutions in Vietnam

Purpose: Vietnam‘s financial sector has grown substantially but microfinance institutions (MFIs) still face up many challenges in providing financial services to underserved customer segments, including small businesses, rural populations, and urban migrants. The recent worldwide explosion of fintech, including in Vietnam, promises to fill this gap. The purpose of this paper is to analyze fintech activities in microfinance sector and recommend for fintech adoption of MFIs in Vietnam. Research Design, Data and Methodology: The paper‘s data is mainly based on international organizations such as Asia Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Vietnamese organizations such as Vietnam Microfinance Working Group. The authors suggest new directions for microfinance activities in Vietnam. Results: In recent years, the application of fintech in microfinance sector has brought many good results, such as improving the quality of products and services, easy access to many customer groups, and scaling up the operating model. Conclusion: MFIs in Vietnam have developed new products and services by applying fintech. The application of technology and digital solution has supported MFIs in Vietnam to gradually achieve targeted growth through expanding geographical inclusion/scale, enhancing product supply/provision, helping in-depth customer understanding as well as improving operational efficiency