Vietnam-based Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) has made a strategic investment in the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, with local implementation support from Backbase’s partner, SmartOSC.
As one of the pioneering banks implementing digital transformation in the market, MSB aims to become a bank with a leading digital platform with the best customer service experience.
Building on a digitalisation strategy, MSB has transformed its offerings to bring streamlined, accessible financial solutions to both individual and corporate customers. MSB is currently serving 5.5 million customers.
By adopting the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, MSB is unifying its in-house applications onto a best-of-suite anchor platform.
This strategic shift enables MSB’s digital factory to deliver a seamless, end-to-end digital banking experience by building on the platform—from onboarding and daily transactions to product holding—enhancing customer engagement, simplifying product bundling, accelerating unique feature development, and reducing cost-to-serve for MSB’s 5.4 million retail and 100,000 enterprise customers.
MSB’s goal is for the platform to enable an omnichannel, frictionless banking journey that elevates the modern customer experience.
“At MSB, we are advancing our digital factory by combining the strengths of Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform with our in-house developments, gaining refreshing flexibility to seamlessly integrate and elevate our existing capabilities,” said Nguyen Hoang Linh, CEO of MSB.
“Through this platform, we will unify, modernise, and launch our retail and business banking channels on a single platform within the next 12 months, achieving the speed, agility, and control needed to scale differentiated customer experiences,” he said.
“This investment aims to lower our cost-income ratio by 8%, reduce cost-to-serve by 30% through frictionless onboarding-to-usage journeys, and increase our CSAT scores to 93 for retail and 85 for enterprise banking,” he added.
With the platform as its foundation, MSB can unify and streamline customer journeys, significantly reducing time-to-market and delivering seamless, high-impact banking experiences that set new benchmarks in Vietnam’s financial landscape.
The platform’s flexible architecture empowers MSB to develop a unique technology ecosystem, integrating seamlessly with other platforms to drive even greater synergy and innovation.
MSB estimates a 30% increase in active digital customers and a 20% – 40% increase per year in digital acquisition by delivering end-to-end digitalised experiences after launching the platform.
“Rather than uproot and restart, the ‘adopt and build’ approach enables MSB to reinvent their existing channels and apps, upskill their digital factory, and empower in-house talent to unlock new efficiencies and innovation,” said Riddhi Dutta, Backbase regional VP in Asia.
“Backbase provides a strategic architecture that complements and amplifies MSB’s current efforts, fostering growth without disrupting the valuable work already in place,” he said. “This approach ensures business continuity while advancing their digital transformation on their own terms, driving progress in a way that aligns with their established processes.”
SmartOSC will play a key role in localising the Backbase platform to meet MSB’s specific needs, ensuring seamless alignment with local expectations and regulatory requirements.
With their experienced resource and deep knowledge of Vietnam’s financial sector, SmartOSC is well-positioned to help MSB achieve its goal of launching both retail and business banking channels within a year.
This partnership highlights the importance of local expertise in the digital transformation process, ensuring a smooth and timely deployment that maximises the benefits of the platform.
“Today’s customers expect seamless, omnichannel experiences, not just multichannel interactions,” said Chi Hieu Nguyen, co-founder and chairman of SmartOSC. “Banks must bridge this gap and constantly innovate in the digital realm to drive growth and engagement.”
With this investment, MSB aims to enhance key performance indicators aligned with its five-year strategic plan including increasing omnichannel acquisition by 10-20% through end-to-end digital journeys, growing digitally active customers to 20% for retail and 23% for enterprise banking, and ensuring 60% of retail and 40% of enterprise banking customers are acquired digitally.
