Banks upskilling staff for digital transformation

Wee Digital CEO Christian Nguyen In keeping with the government’s vision of a cashless society, Wee Digital’s face recognition technology can make interbank money transfers on mobile phones or websites easier and more convenient. Company founder Christian Nguyen, a French Viet Kieu who moved back to his ancestral homeland, realized that as a small startup, Wee Digital could not compete with major finance companies and organizations in the cashless payment market. He therefore chose to offer tools to support this new trend, becoming the first business in Vietnam to successfully commercialize face recognition technology. Wee Digital is not a technology seller, but a technical connector. Its platform enables users to connect with service providers connected with Wee Digital. Apart from the banking sector, Wee Digital has developed face recognition technology in other fields such as tourism and hotels. For example, Vingroup’s Vinpearl resort company became the first … [Read more...] about Wee Digital: Facing up to a cashless economy

At the Korea ICT Day 2018, the Fintech Centre Korea signed memoranda of understanding with four Vietnamese institutions. — Photo vtv.vnViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Fintech is gaining popularity around the world as Southeast Asia, including Việt Nam, becomes a target for fintech’s global expansion. On the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the rapid development of Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things and Big Data, financial technology (fintech) has created a groundbreaking change in the financial industry, introducing a whole new shopping experience to consumers. Fintech has evolved into a global wave. Many fintech companies have developed new business models and new products, bringing greater access to financial services. The global fintech sector raised US$57.9 billion in the first half of 2018, surpassing last year’s record number. Investment in fintech companies in Asia hit $16.8 billion, only … [Read more...] about Fintech the key to a modern digital banking strategy

In a letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said there should be a new legal framework for ride-hailing services like Grab and Go-Viet so that technology could bring social and economic benefits as seen in countries like the U.K., Singapore and Indonesia. While traditional taxi firms provide a whole gamut of the transport services, ride-hailing services only provide a part and so should be managed differently, he explained. He proposed a new definition in the law for ride-hailing firms as companies which provide platforms to connect drivers and passengers using technology. Vietnamese officials have been scratching their heads about how to manage ride-hailing services since traditional taxis are crying foul, claiming their business is being damaged by new competitors like Grab. In its latest version of a bill on managing these services, the Ministry of Transport has tightened conditions for ride-hailing firms. They … [Read more...] about Minister calls for making distinction in regulating ride-hailing, taxi firms

Best Western Hotels & Resorts will migrate all of its business-critical applications to AWS, including its hotel reservation system, customer reward platform, and global contact centres, with plans to complete the migration of these applications from its existing data centres by the end of 2020. Best Western is leveraging the breadth and depth of AWS services, including analytics, machine learning, database, computing, and storage, as well as the expertise of AWS Professional Services, to accelerate the pace of innovation and improve operational efficiency for its member-owners that independently own and operate its hotel properties. As part of its move to the cloud, Best Western Hotels & Resorts is migrating its hotel reservation systems off legacy databases to Amazon Aurora (for its primary database needs) and Amazon Redshift (for data warehousing) to increase capacity and enable the faster processing of hotel reservations around the world, enabling the company to scale … [Read more...] about Best Western Hotels & Resorts goes all-in on AWS

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said in a report to the National Assembly on Wednesday that ride-hailing firms are opposed by traditional taxi firms, which say their revenues have been hit, while there is no legal framework to regulate them. Some have not been complying with transport regulations and do not pay taxes, it said. That is why the ministry wants Grab, FastGo and other companies to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements. They should also have signs on top like regular taxis. The ministry said it would come up with regulations for ride-hailing when road traffic law is next amended. The Ministry of Information and Communications had earlier called for managing ride-hailing services and traditional transport firms differently to promote the digital economy.  Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said the digital transformation would create new business models that challenge or replace existing ones. "The question is whether the government will … [Read more...] about Transport ministry wants to treat ride-hailing firms like taxis until law enacted