Performance Marketing Report for Mobile Banking 2026

1. Vietnam's Mobile Banking Market 2025-2026: The battle for User Experience and Trust

According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, Vietnam's mobile payments market reached a value of USD 46.56 billion in 2025. The market is projected to grow to USD 52.19 billion in 2026 and further expand to USD 83.02 billion by 2031, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.73% during the 2026–2031 period.

In parallel, Adjust's 2025 Mobile App Trends Report highlights Vietnam as one of the leading markets globally in terms of growth in both financial app installs and user sessions. This rapid expansion reflects the increasing adoption of digital financial services and the growing role of Mobile Banking in consumers' daily lives.

Growth in Finance App Installs and Sessions in Vietnam

The year 2025 marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Vietnam’s digital economy. Mobile Banking has become an essential part of consumers’ financial lives, serving as the primary gateway for daily transactions and financial services.

However, behind the impressive growth figures lie several warning signs that industry experts cannot afford to overlook.

2. User Retention: The Biggest Challenge Facing Mobile Banking

User retention remains one of the most pressing challenges in Vietnam’s Mobile Banking sector.

In 2025, Day-1 Retention for financial applications in Vietnam declined to 12.8%, significantly lower than the global average of 20.6%. One of the key drivers behind this trend is the rise of “bonus hunting” behavior, where users download an app solely to claim promotional incentives before uninstalling it shortly afterward.

Paradoxically, the users who remain active are becoming increasingly engaged. According to industry data, the number of sessions on financial apps increased by 84% in Q1 2025, while average session duration reached 6.59 minutes. This level of engagement creates valuable opportunities for banks and fintech companies to promote additional products and services such as savings accounts, investment solutions, and insurance offerings.

As a result, financial institutions are being compelled to shift their focus from pure user acquisition toward customer engagement, retention, and lifecycle value optimization.

User retention rate in Vietnam's Mobile Banking Industry

3. Advertising Costs Are Diverging Across Platforms

Data collected from Omega Media’s Performance Marketing campaigns throughout 2025 reveals a growing disparity in advertising costs across digital platforms.

On Facebook, financial advertisers continue to face significant cost pressures, with average CPC reaching USD 1.22 (approximately VND 30,000). This aligns with industry benchmarks reported by WordStream, which consistently ranks financial services among the most expensive advertising categories, with CPCs often three to four times higher than those of retail businesses.

Meanwhile, TikTok has emerged as a cost-efficient acquisition channel, particularly for reaching Gen Z audiences. In many cases, advertising costs are approximately 30% lower than on Facebook, making the platform increasingly attractive for financial brands seeking scalable growth.

At the same time, advertising fraud is becoming more sophisticated. Fraudulent activities have evolved from traditional click spamming to post-install manipulation and even the use of deepfake technologies designed to bypass eKYC verification systems.

Performance Marketing Costs in the Vietnamese Market, 2025

4. Four key trends shaping Mobile Banking Marketing in 2026

Drawing on trusted industry sources and insights from more than 200 Mobile Banking campaigns managed by Omega Media, one of Asia’s leading Performance Marketing agencies, the report “Performance Marketing in Vietnam’s Mobile Banking Industry: 2025 Overview & 2026 Strategy” highlights four trends expected to reshape financial marketing strategies in the coming year.

- Transaction data will become the most valuable marketing asset: Historical transaction data will play a critical role in enabling more accurate audience segmentation, Lookalike modeling, and Retargeting strategies.

- From “Download the App” to solving financial needs: Marketing messages will increasingly shift away from encouraging app downloads and toward addressing specific financial needs at the moment they arise.

- Generative AI will transform personalization at scale: Generative AI will enable unprecedented levels of personalization. Instead of delivering a single advertisement to millions of users, marketers will be able to generate millions of unique creative variations tailored to individual behaviors and preferences.

- Verified CPA models will gain momentum: As fraud becomes more advanced, financial institutions will increasingly adopt verified CPA models, where marketing costs are incurred only when users successfully complete eKYC verification and perform their first transaction.

Conclusion

With rising acquisition costs and increasingly complex consumer behavior, financial institutions must rethink traditional growth strategies.

Based on more than 15 years of Performance Marketing expertise, Omega Media recommends transitioning from the traditional AARRR funnel to the RARRA framework, prioritizing retention before acquisition expansion. Re-engaging dormant users often delivers a significantly lower cost than acquiring entirely new customers, making retention a critical growth lever for 2026 and beyond.

The data and insights presented in this article are derived from the report “Performance Marketing in Vietnam’s Mobile Banking Industry: 2025 Overview & 2026 Strategy”, researched and published by Omega Media Worldwide JSC.

Download the Report for Free: Performance Marketing in Vietnam’s Mobile Banking Industry: 2025 Overview & 2026 Strategy