Cake's Winning Recipe: How a People-First Strategy Built a Banking Powerhouse

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – July 10, 2026 – In an era dominated by discussions of AI and automation, Vietnam-based Cake by VPBank (Cake) is proving that a people-first strategy is not just a philosophy, but a powerful engine for growth. The digital bank's unique approach was recently validated on a regional stage, earning two prestigious honors at the 2026 HR Asia Awards: the coveted ‘Best Companies to Work For in Asia’ and the forward-looking ‘Tech Empowerment Award’.

These accolades are more than just trophies; they are a testament to a deliberate strategy enacted since Cake's inception in 2021. While many companies bolt on HR functions after establishing their business, Cake has woven its people and culture strategy into the very fabric of its operations, developing them in parallel with its cutting-edge digital platform. The results speak for themselves: rapid growth, early profitability, and a highly engaged workforce that is setting a new standard for the future of finance in Asia.

A New Blueprint for Banking Success

The recognition from HR Asia, a leading publication in the human resources field, carries significant weight. The ‘Best Companies to Work For’ award is not determined by a panel of judges in a boardroom, but by the employees themselves. It utilizes a proprietary Total Engagement Assessment Model (TEAM) survey, which provides a comprehensive, data-driven look at employee sentiment and workplace culture. For a young company like Cake to win alongside institutions with decades of history is a remarkable achievement, underscoring the deep-seated commitment within its ranks.

Equally significant is the ‘Tech Empowerment Award.’ This newer category, launched in 2025, recognizes organizations that don't just implement technology, but use it to fundamentally enhance the employee experience, foster innovation, and drive meaningful progress. Cake’s win here signals that its approach to technology is about augmenting human potential, not replacing it. The bank’s score in this category was approximately 16% higher than the market average, a clear indicator of its leadership in this domain.

This dual recognition perfectly aligns with the theme of this year's HR Asia Awards, "People First, Always." It serves as a powerful reminder that while technology creates competitive advantages, it is people who are the ultimate drivers of innovation and sustainable success. Cake has become a living case study of this principle, demonstrating how a new generation of digital banks can build a business, its AI capabilities, and its organizational culture simultaneously to create an environment where employees are empowered to learn, innovate, and take ownership.

The Engine of Growth: People, Profit, and Performance

Cake's investment in its people is not a charitable endeavor; it is a core component of its business strategy, and the financial returns are undeniable. In just 3.5 years of operation, the digital bank achieved profitability—a milestone that eludes many fintech startups for far longer. This financial success has been built on a foundation of rapidly growing customer value. The bank's average revenue per user (ARPU) tells a story of exponential growth, rising from approximately US$5 in 2023 to US$11 in 2024, more than doubling to US$25 in 2025, and is on track to reach an estimated US$44 in 2026.

This impressive performance is powered by a lean, highly effective team of nearly 400 employees, all based in Vietnam, serving a customer base that has swelled to over 7 million. Independent research from the HR Asia assessment revealed a workforce with extraordinary levels of engagement. Cake scored above 95% on employee commitment indicators, which measure both an employee's desire to stay with the organization and their willingness to go the extra mile to contribute to its success.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Quang, Chief Executive Officer of Cake, views this as the result of tackling a dual challenge head-on. "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," he explained. He emphasized that while technology can be acquired, the true differentiator lies in the human element. "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."

Redefining Tech Empowerment in the AI Era

For Cake, 'tech empowerment' is about creating a symbiotic relationship between its employees and its AI-driven platform. The bank's entire suite of financial services—from payments and savings to consumer lending, credit cards, and international remittances—is developed and operated by its in-house team. This hands-on approach ensures that the people building the technology are deeply connected to the customer experience and are empowered to innovate continuously.

This model challenges the conventional wisdom of simply acquiring off-the-shelf tech solutions. By fostering local talent and giving them ownership over the bank's AI-driven financial services, Cake cultivates a deep well of institutional knowledge and agility. This allows the organization to respond quickly to market changes and customer needs, creating a powerful feedback loop between the technology, the employees who manage it, and the customers who use it.

This strategy is central to the bank's ambitious vision. "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," stated Mr. Quang. This vision is not about an AI that operates in a vacuum, but one that is guided, refined, and leveraged by a highly skilled and motivated team. It represents a more holistic and sustainable model for the future of AI in finance.

The Human-Centric Future of Digital Finance

As financial services across the globe are reshaped by artificial intelligence, Cake’s journey offers a compelling blueprint for the future. The bank's dual awards from HR Asia are a powerful endorsement of its belief that the next generation of industry leaders will not be defined by technology alone. Instead, success will belong to those who master the art of combining advanced AI with empowered, local talent.

By building its business and its people in parallel, Cake has created more than just a successful digital bank; it has cultivated a resilient, innovative culture that is poised for long-term growth. This synthesis of human ingenuity and technological prowess is what Cake believes will become the most lasting competitive advantage for the next generation of financial institutions in Asia.