In the context of digital transformation becoming an inevitable trend in the financial and banking sector, the challenge facing the People’s Credit Funds (PCFs) network is not only to invest in advanced technologies, but also to determine how resources should be organized to enable the entire system to develop effectively.
This is also a challenge that many cooperative financial institutions around the world have successfully addressed. One of the most notable examples is the Desjardins Group of Canada, the largest cooperative financial institution in North America. Rather than allowing each member credit union to develop its own technology capabilities independently, Desjardins has established a Shared Services model, under which information technology, operations, business support, and governance services are centrally organized to serve the entire network.
This model delivers several significant benefits. First, it optimizes resource utilization by minimizing duplicated investments and leveraging economies of scale. Second, it standardizes service quality, ensuring that all member institutions have access to the same high standards of operational support and service delivery. Third, it provides a strong foundation for innovation by enabling technology investments to be implemented across the entire network, generating shared value and long-term benefits for all members.
What distinguishes Desjardins is not only its investment in technology, but also the way it leverages technology to strengthen governance. All support requests are managed centrally through a Ticket Management system, which ensures that every request is logged, tracked, and resolved in accordance with established Service Level Agreements (SLAs). At the same time, automation tools, artificial intelligence (AI), and intelligent monitoring platforms enable the early detection of potential risks, optimize operational processes, and enhance governance efficiency across the entire network.
For Co-opBank, the experience of Desjardins is not a model to be replicated in its entirety. Rather, the key is to identify and adapt those practices that are most relevant to Vietnam’s context in order to develop a solution capable of effectively serving the entire PCFs network. Guided by this approach, Co-opBank officially launched the CFeCenter – the Centralized Coordination and Support Center for the PCFs network in early 2026.
If each PCF represents a link in the cooperative financial system, then the CFeCenter serves as the central coordination hub, integrating resources, processes, and services into a unified system. Unlike a traditional Helpdesk, which focuses primarily on resolving technical issues, the CFeCenter is designed to provide comprehensive support for the entire PCFs network. All requests related to products, services, business processes, technology, and operations are received through a single point of contact, categorized, routed to the appropriate specialized unit, and monitored throughout the entire resolution process until completion.
Through this approach, PCFs not only receive timely support but also benefit from standardized, transparent, and consistent service delivery across the entire network. More importantly, the CFeCenter helps establish a shared knowledge repository, where practical experience, operational procedures, guidelines, and lessons learned are systematically captured, standardized, and shared throughout the system. Every request that is resolved not only addresses the immediate needs of an individual PCF but also generates valuable insights that contribute to process improvement and the continuous enhancement of service quality across the entire network.
In the future, the CFeCenter will evolve beyond a support center to become a data-driven platform that supports governance, policy formulation, demand forecasting, and decision-making. This represents a fundamental shift from “handling operational issues” to “creating strategic value” – from providing isolated support to strengthening the capabilities of the entire system.
The experience of Desjardins demonstrates that the strength of a cooperative financial system does not lie in the independent development of individual institutions, but in their ability to share resources for mutual growth. Through the CFeCenter, Co-opBank is gradually putting this philosophy into practice while fostering the integration of technology, knowledge, and resources to create collective strength across the entire PCFs network in the digital era.
Source: Reporter
