MSB accelerates digital transformation with Backbase and SmartOSC partnership

Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) has announced a strategic investment in Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform, supported by local implementation expertise from SmartOSC, a prominent digital enabler. This partnership signifies a critical phase in MSB’s journey to modernise its operations and deliver customer-centric digital banking solutions, reinforcing its position as a leader in Vietnam’s financial innovation landscape.

As a frontrunner in digital transformation within Vietnam’s banking sector, MSB aims to create a best-in-class digital banking platform that enhances customer experience. Building on its existing digitalisation strategy, the bank has revamped its offerings to deliver accessible and streamlined financial solutions to its growing customer base, which now includes 5.5 million individual and corporate clients.

By integrating the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, MSB plans to consolidate its internal applications onto a unified, cutting-edge digital infrastructure. This move is designed to facilitate a seamless, end-to-end customer experience, covering activities from onboarding to daily transactions. The platform will enable MSB to enhance customer engagement, streamline product bundling, accelerate new feature development, and significantly reduce operational costs for its 5.4 million retail and 100,000 enterprise customers.

MSB CEO Nguyen Hoang Linh emphasised that the platform’s adoption represents a transformative step for the bank. The integration aims to modernise and unify retail and business banking channels within 12 months, achieving greater speed, flexibility, and control. Linh also highlighted specific objectives, including reducing the bank’s cost-income ratio by 8%, cutting cost-to-serve by 30%, and achieving customer satisfaction scores of 93 for retail and 85 for enterprise banking.

The platform’s flexible architecture is expected to significantly reduce time-to-market for new services, enabling MSB to develop a bespoke technology ecosystem that integrates seamlessly with other platforms. The bank anticipates a 30% increase in active digital customers and a 20% to 40% annual growth in digital acquisition following the platform’s full deployment.

Riddhi Dutta, Regional Vice President for Asia at Backbase, noted that MSB’s “adopt and build” strategy allows the bank to innovate while preserving its existing infrastructure. This approach, he said, ensures business continuity and provides a foundation for scalable, customer-focused growth.

SmartOSC, the local implementation partner, will play a vital role in customising the platform to align with Vietnam’s regulatory landscape and customer expectations. The collaboration underscores the value of local expertise in digital transformation projects, ensuring a smooth and timely rollout. Chi Hieu Nguyen, Co-Founder and Chairman of SmartOSC, remarked that the partnership aims to set a benchmark for leveraging technology to deliver seamless omnichannel banking experiences.

Through this initiative, MSB aims to achieve its five-year strategic goals, including a 10% to 20% increase in omnichannel acquisition, a rise in digitally active customers to 20% for retail and 23% for enterprise banking, and digital acquisition of 60% of retail and 40% of enterprise banking customers. The Backbase platform is central to MSB’s vision of becoming Vietnam’s most customer-focused and profitable bank.