Financial infrastructure firm Tala has partnered with CIMB in a US$100 million programme to roll out digital credit services in Vietnam, marking its latest expansion in Southeast Asia following its growth in the Philippines.
The partnership will see Tala and CIMB offer digital lending products to consumers with limited access to traditional credit, as gaps in formal lending persist despite high digital account usage in the country.
Eligible customers will be able to apply for a flexible line of credit through Tala’s mobile application, with limits of up to VND 30 million (approximately US$1,150) and tenors of up to 61 days for each drawdown.
Users can select repayment dates based on their financial schedules and repay early without penalties.
The entire application and approval process will be conducted online.
Tala said its technology enables automated credit scoring and decisioning, allowing loans to be approved and disbursed within minutes, while CIMB will provide the banking infrastructure and regulatory support for the product.
“We’re proud to partner with CIMB, one of the most respected banks in Vietnam, to provide safe, affordable credit to many people who don’t have access.
Tala’s state-of-the-art proprietary technology combined with award-winning customer service makes us uniquely qualified to meet the financial needs of underserved Vietnamese,”
said Shivani Siroya, CEO and Founder of Tala.
“We expect to expand customers’ access to digital financial services, enabling them to proactively and easily achieve their personal financial goals with financial leverage from the collaborative product between Tala and CIMB.”
said Le Hien Trang – Head of Partnership and Strategic Growth, CIMB Vietnam.
Tala is headquartered in the United States and said it has more than 13 million customers globally, with total loan disbursements of around US$7 billion over the past decade. Vietnam is the latest addition to its Asia operations.
In Southeast Asia, Tala entered the Philippines in 2017, where it now has about 4.5 million customers and has disbursed 28 million loans worth around PHP 137 billion.
The company said it continues to invest in financial literacy and anti-fraud initiatives in that market as part of its focus on responsible lending.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ganzevayna1 via Freepik
