Moving towards digitalization: TYM visits CARD MRI

Thin Thuong One-Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM), one of Vietnam’s leading and first official microfinance institutions, visited CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) for its digitalization exposure on May 29-31, 2023.

TYM took part in a three-day microfinance exposure and orientation program at CARD MRI to gain experience in the actual implementation of digitalization to use in providing services to their clients.

“CARD MRI digitalization is taking an advanced step bringing a wide range of benefits to its clients,” said TYM Deputy General Director Dao Thanh Trang. Its digitalization can be the future of the organization to provide its MFI clients with more convenience and become more efficient in promoting development.

“Our partnership with CARD MRI has definitely stood the test of time,” she continued. “Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, CARD MRI’s Founder and Chair Emeritus, is the one who gave us the heart to do microfinance and inspired us to improve our service to the marginalized. CARD MRI is a big part of us.”

CARD MRI and TYM have been in partnership since the early 1990s when Dr. Alip served as one of the consultants who supported the establishment of TYM as a microfinance institution when it was still a project of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU).

The partnership between Dr. Alip and TYM gave CARD MRI a platform to share its expertise across different fields of microfinance over the years.

Road to digitalization

CARD MRI has continued to explore innovative ways to advocate financial inclusion and eradicate poverty. As it provides Filipino families with access to financial services, its financial institutions allow financial transactions through online platforms.

“Digital financial inclusivity for all is our priority,” Dr. Alip stated. “And we want to share our expertise and knowledge in this field as we want microfinance clients to have access to efficient, faster financial services and bring these kinds of services closer to them.”

To bring TYM into the CARD MRI microfinance program, the CARD-MRI Development Institute (CMDI), the education arm of CARD MRI Group, shared the knowledge, skills, and information in the digital realm of the organization, and facilitated the three-day exposure program.

TYM acquired knowledge of the CARD MRI chain of responsibilities, including management techniques for digitization and customer care.

“CARD’s products and services are designed to serve people at the grass-roots level, and we can really learn a lot from them,” Dao Thanh Trang said. “We admire the institution’s process, and I believe that all of the knowledge shared will be beneficial to us.”

Through branch visits, client interviews, digital transaction observation, and unit operation transactions, TYM had firsthand experience of CARD MRI’s actual digitalization implementation.

“The implementation of the institution’s digitalization shows the approaches to reach clients in order to see and understand their needs and conditions,” Dao Thanh Trang stated.

CARD MRI’s digitalization journey comes with konek2CARD, a mobile banking service; the “E-Tanong Mo” ChatBot service that responds to CARD MBA’s members, staff, and MBA coordinators’ queries; and OMS, a CARD MRI monitoring tool, all of which aim to meet the diverse needs of its clients and staff.

Also, CARD MRI Information Technology, Inc. (CMIT), an IT services institution specializing in integrated technology solutions, presented CARD MRI’s Road to Digitization with TYM. The Vietnamese organization was also able to visit DMS Bank in Indonesia to learn about its digital practices and technology-based services.

Dao Thanh Trang elaborated on the potential impact of digitalized products and services on Vietnamese communities, saying, “The infrastructure in Vietnam is developing, and MFI clients benefit from these processes, so digital microfinance services are necessary.”

Following the exposure visit in the Philippines, TYM intends to review their APP, TYM Mobile, and make adjustments to fit clients’ needs and conditions as a way to implement digitalization in Vietnam.