The roundtable featured 20 start-up entrepreneurs and investors in the FinTech sector, including FPT Ventures, IDG Ventures, M_Service, Fundstart, 1Pay, Pasoto.com, Loanvi.com and MyMoney.vn… They agreed to take the network to the next level by setting up a FinTech club in Vietnam to act as links and advocates in pulling together ideas to develop a relevant FinTech ecosystem in Vietnam.

The idea to establish a FinTech association in Vietnam was agreed during the visit to Vietnam in July 2015 by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. During the visit, the UK government expressed their strong interest to work with the Vietnamese regulators, financial service providers, ICT entrepreneurs to create FinTech market conditions which benefit both urban and rural societies in Vietnam.

Dominic Scriven, Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Capital, said, “As a large and long term investor in Vietnam, we are committed to supporting new ideas. We are delighted to play a sponsorship role in the emerging Fintech space. We are confident that the Vietnam FinTech Club will be a great asset to our business community.”

Nirukt Sapru, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Vietnam, said, “We are proud to be the cofounding partner of the Vietnam FinTech Club. At Standard Chartered, we continuously design and implement effective innovation methods and projects that enable us to create breakthrough solutions for our Clients and Customers. By backing the FinTech industry in Vietnam, we echo the Bank’s strong commitment in supporting and encouraging innovation which we believe is a key driver of economic growth and prosperity. Standard Chartered Bank just launched a FinTech Accelerator Programme in Hong Kong to help local and international early-stage and more established FinTech companies grow in Asia’s vibrant markets. We hope to see strong participation from Vietnam in this initiative.”

Douglas Barnes, British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City and Director of UK Trade and Investment in Vietnam, said: “The UK is open for FinTech business with partner nations all around the world. We are delighted Standard Chartered Bank and Dragon Capital, two well-established financial institutions in Vietnam, are actively taking this initiative forward with the Vietnamese partners and we will work closely with them to nurture the FinTech industry in Vietnam.”

Vietnam, with young, tech savvy population and 23 million smart phones in operation and 55 million mobile phone subscribers offers significant demographic advantages for the development of the FinTech sector.