Kredivo targets Vietnam banking with Timo deal

Kredivo Group, a fintech company headquartered in Indonesia, has acquired Vietnam-based digital bank Timo, according to Timo’s business registration certificate in Vietnam dated April 14.

The move is part of the buy now, pay later provider’s bid to expand its banking services in Vietnam and the wider region.

The value of the transaction remains unknown.

Tech in Asia has reached out to Kredivo Group and Phoenix Holdings – a shareholder in both Kredivo Group and Timo – as well as the digital bank’s CEO, Jonas Eichhors, for comments.

Photo credit: Timo

This acquisition is expected to allow Kredivo to combine its consumer lending capabilities with Timo’s digital banking infrastructure as it seeks to build a broader financial platform. In 2021, Kredivo expanded into Vietnam as its first overseas market via a joint venture with Phoenix Holdings.

Kredivo runs a digital bank in Indonesia called Krom Bank. The Indonesian company also expanded into earned wage access through its 2025 acquisition of GajiGesa.

Timo operates in partnership with Viet Capital Bank, as Vietnam does not grant separate licenses for digital banks. It’s unclear whether that arrangement will continue, however. Kredivo also works with a number of lending partners in the country.

Consumer lending has been a key revenue driver for fintech companies across the region. Despite this, people familiar with Timo’s operations say the digital bank has struggled to scale its lending business in recent years.

This acquisition could intensify competition with MoMo, a Vietnam-based fintech giant that also offers lending and BNPL services.

Founded in 2015, Timo is one of the first digital banks in the country. Its former CEO, Vietnamese American entrepreneur Henry Nguyen, is also behind the family office Phoenix Holdings.

In 2022, Timo raised a US$20 million funding round led by Square Peg. The digital bank, whose number of users was approaching 1 million, has so far raised about US$30 million in funding.

See also: Is Vietnam late to Southeast Asia’s digital banking party?