To encourage business households to embrace technology, Director Chu Minh Tuan of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Digital Products and Payment Solutions Center at VPBank argues that during this initial transformation phase, these businesses require comprehensive support, not merely capital.
“Without the right tools, many small enterprises can easily become overwhelmed by accounting, invoicing, tax declarations, inventory management, and cash flow”, noted Director Tuan.
Recognizing this reality, VPBank has collaborated with partners to launch an integrated “All-in-One” solution package. This package provides support for all legal and registration procedures, the setup of e-invoices and digital signatures, and the implementation of accounting and sales management software, while VPBank delivers financial solutions like online business account opening.
MB has also entered the fray, offering its mSeller application free of charge to help merchants create orders, manage revenue and expenses, and issue e-invoices directly linked to the tax authority. Vu Hong Phu, a member of MB’s Executive Board, described it as an ideal solution for small shops lacking the resources for professional management systems. To date, over 15,000 businesses have successfully deployed mSeller without needing to hire accountants or invest in additional hardware.
Similarly, TPBank has partnered with the financial app MoMo, which boasts over 30 million users, to launch a “Postpaid Wallet”. This feature allows merchants to use a flexible credit line for payments or inventory purchases. The bank also offers a mobile Point-of-Sale (mPOS) solution with integrated e-invoicing to help merchants manage revenue and tax reporting.
According to a report by Ernst & Young Vietnam Co. Ltd., the Postpaid Wallet has already helped over 50,000 merchants access capital quickly without needing collateral.
Beyond these tools, banks are also offering free consultations and support for financial reporting and e-invoice implementation. Techcombank has partnered with MISA and Sapo to offer a 50 percent discount on accounting and sales software, while providing working capital of up to VND500 million (US$19,600) through its Shopcash app. In 2024, Vietcombank’s free consulting program helped over 2,000 business households transition into formal enterprises, with 70 percent successfully adopting e-invoices.
This technological transformation also presents an opportunity for household businesses to access capital more easily. With transparent cash flow, banks can assess creditworthiness more accurately and approve loans faster, in some cases without requiring collateral. This helps a segment of the business community avoid the risks of falling into the hands of predatory lenders (also known as “black-market credit”) due to capital pressures.
Director Nguyen Thien Tam of BVBank’s Digital Banking Center acknowledged that various businesses currently struggle to access affordable loans, often resorting to personal loans with low limits that are insufficient for their operations. Proving income remains a significant barrier. The adoption of e-invoicing, therefore, provides banks with the data needed to assess credit and build automated, online lending models.
BVBank is currently developing such models based on real-time business data collected from sales management software. The integration of data from the electronic invoice system and sales software will help the bank make quick, accurate, and more suitable credit decisions for actual needs.
Meanwhile, VPBank is offering unsecured loans of up to VND500 million ($19,600) as part of a VND10 trillion ($392 million) support package with a one percent interest rate reduction. MB is promoting an unsecured online overdraft model via the MISA Lending platform, with approvals of up to VND3 billion ($117,600) based on e-invoice sales data, featuring a preliminary approval time of just five minutes.
According to a banking leader in HCMC, business households that adopt modern management software and prove transparent cash flow will find the door to bank financing wide open, providing them with the capital needed to expand and formally incorporate.
Vice Chairman Phan Dinh Tue of the HCMC Union of Business Associations (HUBA) shared that Resolution 68 of the Politburo aims for Vietnam to have 2 million enterprises by 2030. “Guiding” about 5 million hbusiness households to formalize is entirely feasible if there is strong engagement from banks and local authorities. This not only creates sustainable economic change but also helps individuals access formal finance and avoid predatory lending.
To support this, HUBA is coordinating with tech companies to provide management software to small, medium, and micro-enterprises, especially business households, to facilitate their transition.
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