Agora and FPT launch regional AI partnership targeting Southeast Asia’s banking and financial institutions

Global real-time engagement technology provider Agora and Vietnam-based IT services group FPT Corporation have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence across Southeast Asia’s banking and financial services sector. The collaboration focuses on deploying conversational AI and real-time communications infrastructure to support digital transformation initiatives among banks and financial institutions operating in the region.

Under the partnership, Agora’s ultra-low-latency real-time communications and conversational AI capabilities will be integrated with FPT’s enterprise AI ecosystem and regional implementation expertise. The combined offering is intended to help financial institutions modernise customer engagement, automate service workflows, and improve operational efficiency, while aligning with regulatory and compliance requirements across diverse Southeast Asian markets.

The announcement reflects broader shifts in the region’s financial sector, where competition among digital banks, rising mobile adoption, and evolving customer expectations are pushing institutions to invest in always-on, personalised digital services. At the same time, regulators are increasing scrutiny around data governance, cybersecurity resilience, and consumer protection, creating demand for infrastructure that balances innovation with operational control.

Responding to digital transformation pressures in banking

Banks across Southeast Asia are under growing pressure to deliver faster, more responsive digital experiences without compromising trust or regulatory compliance. As customer interactions increasingly move to mobile apps, messaging platforms, and remote channels, conversational AI and real-time engagement technologies are becoming central to next-generation banking platforms.

The Agora–FPT collaboration positions conversational AI as part of the core engagement layer rather than a standalone tool. By combining real-time voice and video infrastructure with enterprise AI agents, the joint solution is designed to support more natural, human-like interactions across customer touchpoints, including mobile banking applications, web platforms, and contact centres.

Tony Zhao, chief executive officer of Agora, said innovation in digital banking must be accompanied by strong foundations in security and compliance, particularly as institutions expand AI-driven services across high-volume customer interactions. He said the integration of real-time conversational intelligence with enterprise AI capabilities enables banks and financial institutions to engage customers in a more efficient and reliable way at scale.

From FPT’s perspective, the partnership strengthens its financial services offering across Southeast Asia. Mark Hall Andrew, chief revenue officer of FPT Smart Cloud, said the collaboration enables banking and financial institutions to deliver more responsive and trusted digital experiences by combining enterprise AI with real-time conversational infrastructure, reflecting rising demand for scalable AI deployments in regulated industries.

Enterprise AI deployments and regional use cases

FPT’s enterprise AI solutions are already deployed across more than 40 banks and financial institutions globally, spanning digital banking, consumer finance, and contact centre operations. These deployments provide insight into how conversational AI is being applied to address operational constraints and service quality challenges in high-volume environments.

At Sacombank, AI voice agents deployed as part of a next-generation contact centre have increased call handling capacity by more than 58%, enabling the system to manage up to 41,000 calls per day. The deployment was reported to have improved customer experience and contributed to a higher Net Promoter Score, while reducing pressure on human agents during peak periods.

Vietcombank has deployed AI agents across messaging channels to handle common customer enquiries related to cards, loans, interest rates, promotions, and foreign exchange. This approach allows staff to focus on more complex and value-generating tasks. Home Credit Vietnam uses AI voice agents to automate high-volume call centre operations, handling millions of customer interactions each month while maintaining consistent service quality.

By integrating these AI capabilities with Agora’s real-time voice and video infrastructure, the companies aim to deliver secure, multilingual digital interactions across mobile applications, web platforms, and contact centres. Target use cases include retail and corporate banking support, lending and credit lifecycle engagement, insurance servicing, and cross-border customer interactions.

Compliance, scalability, and regional competition

Regulatory diversity remains a defining challenge for Southeast Asia’s banking sector. Financial institutions operate under varying frameworks governing electronic systems, cybersecurity standards, and consumer data protection, requiring technology platforms that can adapt to local requirements while maintaining consistent performance.

Agora and FPT said the joint platform is built on an enterprise-grade, low-latency architecture designed to support high interaction volumes while maintaining operational stability and regulatory compliance. This focus on scalability is increasingly important as banks automate routine interactions while preserving high-touch advisory services for more complex customer needs.

Competition among banks is intensifying in markets such as Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand, particularly as digital-only players and regional platforms expand their presence. Infrastructure that enables rapid deployment of AI-driven engagement, while maintaining regulatory alignment, is becoming a strategic differentiator.

The partnership positions both companies to capture growing demand for AI-powered engagement platforms within the region’s financial services sector, as banks move from pilot projects to production-scale deployments.