Kredivo Enters Vietnam, Indonesian Fintech Intensively Expands

Kredivo penetrated the Vietnamese market through a joint venture company (joint venture) Phoenix Holding. This adds to the list of Indonesian financial technology (fintech) startups that are expanding overseas during the corona pandemic.

Phoenix Holding is claimed to be a pioneer family investment company in Vietnam with a diversified portfolio in the consumer, financial services, retail and technology sectors.

A company entity in Vietnam, Kredivo Vietnam Joint Stock Company can also take advantage of Kredivo’s expertise and experience in operating installment or paylater services. In addition, Phoenix Holding’s extensive network and local knowledge.

“The launch of Kredivo in Vietnam as the first market share outside Indonesia is another proud achievement and milestone this year,” said Kredivo Chief Operating Officer Valery Crottaz in a press release, Friday (27/8).

Reasons for Vietnam to be Selected as a Destination Country for Kredivo’s Expansion

He said that Vietnam was a logical choice given the country’s low credit card penetration. Kredivo noted that the percentage was 4.1% of the total population, lower than Indonesia and the Philippines. 

In addition, the number of middle-class people and the e-commerce market is growing rapidly in Vietnam.

Then, “there are similarities in demographic and consumption patterns with Indonesia,” said Valery. Phoenix Holdings CEO Nguyen Lan Trung Anh added, the company and Kredivo share a common vision of financial inclusion and access.

“In Vietnam, with a mobile and digital native golden generation, our services such as PayLater will meet consumer needs when existing credit services are too big of a drag,” he said.

He is optimistic that Kredivo and Phoenix’s PayLater services will unlock and catalyze another important growth stage of the economy in Blue Dragon Country. In Vietnam, Kredivo will partner with finance company VietCredit Joint Stock Company.

This is in the context of operating the PayLater business. The company’s core products will be rolled out in stages, starting with bill payments for daily needs and personal loans. It further released the PayLater feature in e-commerce in the fourth quarter.

Previously, Kredivo’s parent company, FinAccel, together with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings II (VPCB) as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with the support of Victory Park Capital (VPC) announced that they had entered the stage of a definitive agreement for their business merger.

VietCredit Chief Executive Officer Ho Minh Tam believes that collaboration with Kredivo will drive a strong digital transformation. “This can improve the customer experience and gain a competitive advantage in the industry,” he said.

Indonesian Fintech Intensively Expansion during the Pandemic

Apart from Kredivo, there are several Indonesian fintech that are expanding to a number of countries in Southeast Asia. 

Modalku’s parent company, Funding Societies, officially entered the Thai market in February. Modalku Co-Founder and CEO Reynold Wijaya said the market potential in Thailand is huge.

Funding Societies noted that more than half of the three million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in this country are having difficulty obtaining business loans, especially short-term capital.

The company has also obtained a crowdfunding loan license from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February (2/2). Funding Societies are already present in Singapore and Malaysia.

Investree also plans to enter the Thai market. The company targets to complete the licensing process in the country this year. Currently, Investree operates in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Investree obtained an operational permit in the Philippines as a crowdfunding organizer under the name Investree Philippines. Another fintech lending, Kredit Pintar also plans to expand to other countries in Southeast Asia.

Quoted from the marketplace loan page Mintos, Kredit Pintar has been present in the Philippines since 2018. The sister company, Neuroncredit Financing Company Inc. was also present in the Philippines in April 2019. As a result, its name changed from Kredit Pintar PH to Atome PH.