Backbase, the creator of the Engagement Banking Platform, has announced that Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB) has made a strategic investment in the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, supported locally by Backbase’s partner, SmartOSC, a digital transformation agency.
Through the adoption of the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform, MSB is consolidating its in-house applications into a best-of-suite anchor platform.
This strategic move empowers MSB’s digital factory to deliver a seamless, end-to-end digital banking experience, encompassing onboarding, daily transactions, and product holding.
The platform aims to enhance customer engagement, streamline product bundling, accelerate the development of unique features, and reduce cost-to-serve for MSB’s 5.4 million retail and 100,000 enterprise customers.
MSB’s objective is to create an omnichannel, frictionless banking journey, elevating the modern customer experience.
MSB CEO Nguyen Hoang Linh said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
With the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform as its foundation, MSB is set to unify and streamline customer journeys, significantly reducing time-to-market for new solutions and delivering seamless, high-impact banking experiences. This initiative positions MSB to set new benchmarks in Vietnam’s financial services landscape.
The platform’s flexible architecture enables MSB to develop a bespoke technology ecosystem, integrating effortlessly with other platforms to drive synergy and foster innovation.
MSB anticipates a 30% increase in active digital customers and an annual 20%–40% rise in digital acquisitions through its end-to-end digitalised experiences post-launch.
SmartOSC, leveraging its expertise in Vietnam’s financial sector, will localise the Backbase platform to align with MSB’s unique requirements and regulatory standards.
It will also play a crucial role in ensuring the platform’s seamless integration and timely deployment.
With plans to launch both retail and business banking channels within a year, this collaboration underscores the importance of local expertise in driving digital transformation and maximising the platform’s benefits.
SmartOSC co-founder and chairman Chi Hieu Nguyen said: “Using Backbase’s Engagement Banking Platform, we’re confident in delivering this project on time and supporting MSB’s mission to become ‘a bank everyone wants to join and no one wants to leave’ by leveraging technology to meet clients wherever they are and serve them precisely how they prefer.”
MSB has made a strategic investment in the Backbase Engagement Banking Platform to advance key performance indicators outlined in its five-year strategic plan.
Through the adoption, MSB aims to achieve a 10-20% increase in omnichannel customer acquisition by leveraging fully digitalised customer journeys.
Additionally, the bank plans to grow digitally active customers to 20% in the retail segment and 23% in enterprise banking, with a target of acquiring 60% of retail and 40% of enterprise banking customers through digital channels.
