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annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 35%. Many banks now conduct over 90% of
transactions through digital channels (SBV, 2024b; MIC, 2018–2024), while adult bank
account penetration increased from 63.86% in 2018 to 86.97% in 2024 (State Bank of
Vietnam [SBV], 2024b).
Despite growing evidence on banking digitalisation, three critical gaps remain. First,
existing studies typically rely on single proxy measures such as IT expenditure ratios or
digital transaction volumes, without capturing the multidimensional nature of digital
infrastructure. Second, empirical research in ASEAN economies remains fragmented,
focusing either on financial performance or digital adoption rather than their structural
linkage. Third, while studies from Indonesia (Chen et al., 2021), the Philippines, and
Thailand have examined individual dimensions of banking digitalisation, no study to date
has systematically examined how heterogeneous digital investment strategies across
bank clusters translate into differentiated economic transformation outcomes in
Vietnam’s banking sector. This study addresses these gaps by developing a cluster-based
analytical framework grounded in observable digital investment profiles.
This paper addresses three research questions: (i) What has been the trajectory and
structure of digital infrastructure investment by listed commercial banks over 2018–2024?
(ii) How do technology adoption and data capabilities affect financial performance across
different bank clusters? (iii) What institutional and policy conditions are required to
advance comprehensive digital economic transformation in Vietnam?
The paper’s academic contributions address the gaps identified above across three
dimensions: (1) On digital infrastructure measurement: the study develops a four-cluster
analytical typology of Vietnam’s 27 listed commercial banks based on observable IT
expenditure intensity and digital adoption profile from annual reports and secondary data,
providing a replicable comparative framework for banking digital investment research in
developing economies; (2) On empirical evidence from Vietnam: the study provides
evidence from descriptive panel data analysis of 27 listed commercial banks (189
observations), filling a literature gap on the ASEAN banking context; (3) On linking digital
infrastructure to economic transformation: the study identifies three specific transmission
channels (operational efficiency, financial inclusion, ecosystem innovation) connecting
banking technology investment to broader economic transformation in Vietnam’s AI era.
2. Literature review, theoretical framework, and research methods
2.1. Literature review
The relationship between digital infrastructure and economic transformation has
attracted considerable scholarly attention. Digital technology investment generates
productivity spillovers beyond the adopting firm, particularly when complemented by
appropriate organisational restructuring (Do et al., 2022; Le et al., 2025). Vives (2019)
argues that digitisation reshapes banking competition by reducing marginal costs and
stimulating innovation, pressuring incumbent banks to transform their business models.
Sahay et al. (2020) and Frost (2020) similarly document that digital financial infrastructure
is reshaping banking systems across emerging markets, with positive effects on efficiency
and financial inclusion when supported by adequate regulatory frameworks. Gomber et al.
(2017) emphasise that controlled experimentation mechanisms and open banking
frameworks are prerequisites for translating fintech infrastructure investment into
sustainable innovation.
In the Vietnamese and ASEAN context, the literature records positive associations
between bank digitalisation and financial performance, expressed primarily through

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