HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Building its business and its people in parallel has been a defining strategy of Vietnam-based digital bank Cake by VPBank (Cake) since its inception — a journey now recognized with two honors at the HR Asia Awards 2026: Best Companies to Work For in Asia and the Tech Empowerment Award.

The recognition reflects Cake's belief that while AI/Technology creates competitive advantage, people remain the driving force behind innovation and sustainable growth. Rather than treating talent development as a function that follows business expansion, Cake has built its workplace and human resource strategy alongside its digital banking platform, operating model, and organizational culture.

The awards also align with this year's HR Asia theme, "People First, Always" — a reminder that while AI is transforming how companies operate, people remain at the center of sustainable business success.

Unlike many institutions recognized by HR Asia, which have decades of operating history, Cake represents a new generation of digital banks. Established in 2021, the bank has built its business, AI/Technology capabilities, and organizational culture simultaneously — creating an environment where employees are empowered to learn continuously, embrace new technologies, and take ownership of innovation.

The digital bank now serves more than 7 million customers with a team of nearly 400 employees, all based in Vietnam. This team develops and operates the bank's AI-driven financial services across payments, savings, consumer lending, credit cards, international remittances, and other digital financial solutions.

Cake's investment in people has gone hand in hand with strong business performance. The bank achieved profitability after just 3.5 years of operation while steadily increasing the value created from its growing customer base. Average revenue per user (ARPU) rose from approximately US$5 in 2023 to US$11 in 2024, more than doubled to US$25 in 2025, and is projected to reach approximately US$44 in 2026.

Independent employee research conducted as part of the HR Asia assessment also highlighted a highly engaged workforce. Cake scored above 95% on employee commitment indicators measuring willingness to remain with the organization and readiness to go beyond expectations in contributing to shared goals. The bank also scored approximately 16% higher than the market average in the Tech Empowerment category, which recognizes organizations that effectively leverage technology to enhance employee experience and performance.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Quang, Chief Executive Officer of Cake digital bank, building a digital bank is a twin challenge: designing the right business model, and building the people behind it — the right talent and the right culture. While technology can be acquired quickly, sustainable innovation depends on teams that continuously learn, trust one another, and are empowered to make decisions. "The greatest value of these awards is that the recognition comes from the very people who are building Cake every day. Developing our people is essential to strengthening our innovation capability and moving toward our vision of becoming a leading Next Gen AI Bank in the region," said Mr. Quang.

As AI continues to redefine financial services worldwide, Cake believes the future of digital banking will be shaped not by AI/Technology alone, but by organizations that combine advanced AI/Technology with empowered local talent. That combination, the bank believes, will become a lasting competitive advantage for the next generation of financial institutions in Asia.