In the context of AI, data and customer behavior are strongly changing the financial - banking industry, financial institutions are no longer competing simply with new features, products and services or network scale, but with customer understanding, hyper-personalization and technology transformation into optimal customer experience in every touch point.
At the international conference "Digital Transformation: Trends and Strategic Vision" with the participation of leading experts in the field of strategy, digital transformation and innovation such as Mr. Robin Speculand - Global expert on strategy and transformation implementation; Mr. Guillaume de Gantès & Mr. Shobhit Awasthi - senior experts from McKinsey & Company. The conference brought global perspectives on future banking trends, while opening up many practical exchanges on how the banking industry reshapes customer relationships through digitization, data and AI.
AI, data and trends shaping the banking future
According to Mr. Guillaume de Gantès - leader of Banking and Financial Services at McKinsey & Company, AI is becoming the center of all banking operations, the competitive advantage will belong to organizations capable of integrating AI into operations, risk management and customer experience on a large scale.
Many other prominent trends are also mentioned such as the competition to become customers' "main banks"; the development of ecosystem banking models; new financial models; or increasing demands on network security, data security and digital risk management. According to the speaker, traditional banking models are being reshaped in the direction of putting customers at the center, building integrated and deeper personalized ecosystems thanks to data and AI.
From the experience of deploying at many international banks, Mr. Guillaume de Gantès believes that the biggest challenge of AI transformation lies not in technology, but in the ability to transform strategies into practical changes in each customer journey and operating model. This requires banks to simultaneously modernize technology platforms, improve data management capacity, increase flexibility in operation and build organizational models that quickly adapt to changes.
When "Customer Obsession" becomes a new competitive advantage for banks
From many case studies in the banking sector, Mr. Robin Speculand - Global expert on digital transformation strategy and deployment, advisor to many large organizations such as DBS or Singapore Airlines, said that customers today do not care about what bank strategies, but care about how banks deploy in each specific experience.
Accordingly, the banking industry is shifting from "customer service" to "customer experience" and higher to "customer obsession" - where all operating decisions originate from deep understanding of customer needs, behaviors and contexts.
Many practical contents are shared such as applying data and AI to identify customer needs at the right time; or combining technology and experience to build a personalized experience instead of just providing new digital features.
Mr. Robin Speculand affirmed that a winning bank in the future is not a bank with the most digital features, but a bank that knows how to use digital, data, AI and understanding of people to build deeper relationships with customers.
From trends to implementation: Reshaping customer relationships in the digital age, data and AI
With experience in consulting for deployment for many international banks, Mr. Shobhit Awasthi - Expert in Digital Transformation and AI of McKinsey & Company believes that the biggest gap of many organizations today lies between expectations of "putting customers at the center" and the practical experience that customers receive. Many banks invest heavily in technology, but the customer journey is still fragmented by a closed operating model and lack of continuous data connection.
Meanwhile, Mr. Robin Speculand believes that many banks today are still following the "cross-selling" mindset instead of truly accompanying and serving the needs of customers in each period of time. According to the speaker, data and AI should not only serve the goal of selling more products, but need to help banks correctly identify circumstances, understand customers and provide practical value interactions in each experience.
Digital transformation capacity becomes DNA and is a long-term competitive advantage of VietinBank
The trends and perspectives shared at the conference also clearly reflect VietinBank's digital transformation orientation for the period 2026 - 2028, when digital transformation is no longer limited to digitizing processes or applying technology, but aims to change the method of creating value, customer service and operation organization of the bank.
Entering the "Harmony" phase, VietinBank promotes digital transformation towards standardization, flexibility and synchronization throughout the system. In the period 2026 - 2028, VietinBank identifies three pillars of action including: Increasing efficiency and bringing outstanding value to customers; Standardizing and spreading digital transformation capacity throughout the system; Promoting innovation culture and pioneering spirit.
In the context of the banking industry undergoing strong changes by AI, data and technology, VietinBank identifies adaptability, customer understanding capacity and strategic transformation into practical actions as the foundation for creating sustainable competitive advantages in the future. With the orientation of putting customers at the center, promoting data application, AI and innovation, VietinBank is gradually building a foundation for a new development stage in the digital age.
