Cake Digital Bank breaks even by meeting small needs

The Vietnamese digital bank owes its success to quick loans and low-limit credit cards.

Ho Chi Minh-based Cake Digital Bank broke even in December 2024, joining an exclusive list of digital banks in Asia that have started taking an ever-widening slice of the financial industry.

It credits its success to taking care of smaller financial needs such as quick loans and low-limit credit cards that traditional players have spurned.

“Whilst traditional banks have been digitizing their services, their core focus remains on traditional customers,” Cake Digital Bank CEO Quang Nguyen told Asian Banking & Finance.

“This means smaller financial needs such as quick loans of a few million Vietnamese dong or low-limit credit cards often go unmet because they aren’t a priority and are costly to operate under traditional banking models,” he said in an emailed reply to questions, adding that traditional lenders often exclude these customer groups due to the lack of credit history, insufficient collateral, and cumbersome procedures.

The lender, a collaboration between local ride-hailing bank Be Group and a part of the Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank, has attracted 5 million customers since it was launched in 2021.

Cake Digital Bank’s average revenue was US$12 per user as of 2024, and the bank now holds $352m (VND9t) in savings deposits. It more than doubled payment transactions to $4.7b from $2.2b in 2023.

Making things accessible to customers is another ingredient for success, especially in Vietnam where many rural customers were unfamiliar with fully digital banks.

Cake’s answer had been to simplify the user experience — making things “easy as cake,” Nguyen said. Clients can open an account in two minutes and apply for a credit card and loan online, whilst getting pay later approvals with no complex paperwork.

Customers can also access Cake’s financial services from a diverse ecosystem of partners. It is a financial option in the ride-hailing, entertainment, and retail business spaces, Nguyen said.

Another factor is its people. “We build a local talent team with a strong startup mindset and innovation and a resilient culture.”
Nguyen said artificial intelligence (AI) is also an important backbone of their operations, adding that last year alone, Cake developed more than 60 AI models.

They are also the only digital bank in Vietnam to have developed its own large language model (LLM) AI.

“This AI capability is applied across marketing, sales, risk management, and customer service, driving both efficiency and customer value,” Nguyen said. “The cost savings from AI-powered operations enable us to reinvest in better offers and personalized financial solutions.”

Cake is also using generative AI to analyse customer behaviour and provide personalised financial solutions, whether it’s opening a card, savings account, or investment.

Its in-house cloud-based card system speeds up transactions and reduces costs, whilst AI-powered processes improve everything from onboarding customers via electronic know-your-customer rules to approvals and virtual banking services, Nguyen said.
Cake is banking on AI to help it expand further whilst remaining cost-efficient.

“By leveraging AI-driven automation, we optimise processes like customer support and collection management, reducing the need for manual operations whilst improving speed and accuracy,” Nguyen said.

Cake is also looking to expand its embedded banking solutions.

“Banking is no longer limited to traditional platforms; financial services are now seamlessly integrated into digital ecosystems,” he said. “Instead of visiting a bank, users can access financial products directly within the apps and services they use daily.