Transforming banking for Vietnam’s underserved Gen Z

CAKE by VPBank is Vietnam's inaugural digital-only bank. Leveraging the Mambu platform, CAKE achieved a rapid 74-day deployment and demonstrated robust scalability, reaching profitability within 3.5 years.

54: days from MVP to launch

4: million customers to date

6576: billion VND in savings

CAKE

About the customer

Cake is a fully digital bank launched in 2021 by VPBank and Be Group, the company behind Vietnam’s 'Be' ride-hailing app. The bank is licensed through VPBank, one of the country’s leading financial institutions.

Cake was designed to serve Vietnam’s young, digitally-savvy population, with a strong focus on financial inclusion. By integrating directly into the Be app, it became the first digital bank in Vietnam to offer seamless banking services within a ride-hailing platform.

The bank's commitment to innovation in banking across Vietnam and Southeast Asia has been widely recognised. Awards include the 2024 Technology Bank of the Year, the 2022 Asian Banking & Finance Award for Best Core Banking System Initiative, and many other distinctions.

The challenge

Bridging the banking gap in Vietnam

Initially, Cake offered limited financial services through its app. Recognising a significant gap in the market for a full-service digital bank catering to Vietnam's young, digitally-savvy population—many of whom were unbanked—Cake aimed to improve access to financial services.

To achieve this, Cake sought a flexible and scalable cloud banking platform to support rapid growth and the development of a comprehensive suite of digital banking services.

“In order to provide a superior customer experience we needed to enable the rapid launch of flexible and unique products. We selected Mambu's cloud banking platform as it provides many innovative and versatile solutions in the market.”

- Nguyen Huu Quang, CEO of beFinancial

The solution

A core banking system made for scale

Cake selected Mambu’s cloud-native SaaS platform as its new technology foundation. Underpinned by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Mambu’s flexible and scalable architecture aligned with Cake’s rapid growth ambitions.

Mambu completed the core banking replacement project for Cake in record time. This swift implementation empowered Cake to offer a wide range of personal banking including deposit and checking accounts and savings, allowing new customers to open a bank account in just two minutes using a mobile phone.

By integrating Cake into the 'Be' ride-hailing app’s interface—a first in Vietnam—the bank unlocked access to financial services for up to 10 million existing Be drivers and customers, primarily Gen Z and young professionals.

The results

Fastest-growing digital bank, now profitable

Mambu enabled Cake to go from MVP to market in just 74 days, setting a new benchmark for rapid deployment in Vietnam’s financial sector. This speed-to-market, combined with Mambu’s cloud-native flexibility, allowed Cake to scale seamlessly and introduce a fully digital banking experience tailored to Vietnam’s young, mobile-first consumers.

Since launching in 2021, Cake has become Vietnam’s fastest-growing digital bank, reaching 5 million customers by 2025.

Within just 3.5 years, it became the first digital-only bank in Vietnam to achieve profitability—a major milestone in a competitive fintech market.

VND 9,000 billion in individual customer deposits
80% retention for transactional, 95% for financial product users
Top 100 Digital Banks Worldwide & Best Digital Bank in Vietnam 2025

Powered by Mambu’s cloud banking platform, Cake has built a scalable, future-ready model integrated with the Be ride-hailing app. With a strong tech foundation and customer-first innovation, it is set for further growth in Vietnam’s digital economy.