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New Year’s Eve comes with all this preparation and shopping that needs to be done, increasing the financial burden for many of people. To make our customers’ lives easier, Timo offers 2 special products to help you get everything you need without worrying about breaking the bank: Timo Fast Cash & Timo VISA Installment.

If you are wondering which product would best suit you, keep reading to get all the information needed to make the right decision for yourself.

1/ Registration and approval

Timo VISA Installment

  • Timo VISA holders can immediately apply for the installment plan if your credit card is active and the validity period of the card is equal or greater than the installment repayment period.
  • The approval is carried out online via the Timo app. Any eligible transaction over 3.000.000 VND that are labeled “Create Installment” in the Timo app can be converted into installments. You can receive the confirmation of your installment status within 1 day* from application.  *Only applicable on working days

Fast Cash

Timo’s cardholders can easily register for Fast Cash in the Timo app within a few minutes. Your application would be approved within 30 minutes during working hours (Mon – Fri, 8:00 – 16:00)

2/ Criteria for application

Timo VISA Installment

To apply for Timo VISA Installment, the main criteria for application focus on the transactions needed to be converted into installments, such as:

  • Eligible transactions must be over 3.000.000 VND and are labeled “Create Installment” in the Timo app.
  • Eligible transactions applied to be converted into installments must be successfully recorded by VPBank
  • Eligible transactions must be paid by VNĐ inside Vietnam.

Find out more about other criteria for application here.

Fast Cash

With Timo Fast Cash, you will not need to provide proof of income or mortgage assets in order to apply. There are only 3 qualification criteria for Timo Fast Cash as shown below:

  • You have an active Timo Spend Account for at least 180 days.
  • Your Spend Account and Goal Save have a minimum average balance of at least 500.000 VND over 180 days.
  • Your Spend Account has an average number of deposit transactions of at least 5.000.000 VND over 180 days.

Similar to Timo VISA Installment, Fast Cash can also be applied for in the app. Read more about how to activate your Fast Cash here.

3/Limit, interest and payment terms

  • Timo VISA Installment offers flexible repayment periods of 3, 6 or 12 months. This installment plan does not have a limit, any eligible transaction over 3.000.000 VND can be converted into installments with a low 1% interest rate payable monthly.
  • The limit of Fast Cash ranges from 10.000.000 VND to 100.000.000 VND. The maximum repayment period for Fast Cash is within 01 year from the day your Fast Cash is activated. Interest rates may change based on the time of registration, hence, full details about interest will be sent to your registered email address upon applying for Fast Cash.

4/ Characteristics and benefits

  • Timo VISA Installment: although this feature will help you shop for New Year’s Eve with ease, it allows you to carefully consider if it would be the right decision before converting each transaction into installments. Additionally, since this installment plan is not tied to any specific merchant in Vietnam, you can freely buy whatever your heart desires at any merchant of your choosing. However, this feature can only be used by Timo VISA holders with transactions made online and through POS terminals in Vietnam and in VND.
  • Fast Cash: this feature offers you additional cash flow with a high limit. Fast Cash can be used to pay utility or shopping bills online, transfer money and can be used regularly by swiping the Timo Debit card at all POS terminals. However, the money in Fast Cash will only be activated when your Spend Account balance reaches zero. Also, since Fast Cash can be activated with a high limit, you should be careful with your spending to avoid ending up with an excessive amount of debt. You are advised to only use Fast Cash for your daily shopping activities.

Both of the above products have their own distinct advantages that can help you to shop without worrying about going broke this Year-end. Upon understanding clearly the characteristics of both products, you will be able to choose the right feature for yourself to help you prepare better for the upcoming festive celebrations.  

Financial needs and personal finance management are important factors in our lives. Every individual has a different set of financial needs based on many considerations, such as age, career path, personal goals, etc. Hence every person would have a different way of managing their own personal finances.
In the process of managing personal finances, unexpected need of money beyond one’s current financial capacity is something that cannot always be avoided. This may lead to taking a loan from a bank or a financial institute or even a family member. But how can you choose a right loan type that suits your needs and repayment capability? Hopefully the following article will help you to do this easier.

1/ Different financial needs

Depending on various factors, such as age, career path, personal goals, etc., everyone will have a different purpose to get a loan. For young people who are still in universities, they often need a small loan to pay their tuition fees or buy a new laptop to support their education. For people who have been working for a few years, the demand for a loan may come from higher needs, such as: buying a new motorbike or a tablet to work anywhere without carrying a laptop. As for people with stable jobs and middle-aged people, their demand for a loan is often used to serve larger purposes, such as: investment, opening a business, buying a house, investing in education for their children, etc.

While the purpose of the loan may differ from individual to individual, it all comes down to one common need – that sometimes people just need an extra amount of money that can be paid off later. Hence, almost every bank and financial institution offers a range of loan types to suit different needs.

2/ Common types of loans


Overdraft loan
An overdraft loans is an approved amount of money that you can use in excess of the current balance in your account. Once you have successfully applied for an overdraft loan, your bank will issue the approved loan limit for you to use when your account balance hits 0. The outstanding benefit of this loan type lies in the fact that your loan limit can be relatively high as it can go up to 100 millions VND or 5 times higher than your monthly income.
Overdraft loan can act as a “financial savior” for situations where you have accidentally used most of your monthly budget and you still need money to pay for daily expenses or necessities. Suitable customers for this loan type are employed people with a relatively stable monthly income or small business owners requiring money to pay for expenses.
Unsecured loan
This is the type of loan that does not require being secured by mortgage assets. Any application for this loan type will be reviewed and approved based on one’s financial reputation. Your financial reputation will be evaluated through your monthly income or credit crating. Unsecured loans can be used to cater to those who need to pay expenses for weddings, holidays, etc..
Unsecured loans can offer a high limit of up to 500 million VND to use for 60 months. However, in similarity with overdraft loans, suitable customers for this loan type should be people with stable monthly income that can afford to repay for their loan.
Mortgage loan
This is the type of loan that requires being secured by mortgage assets. These mortgage assets must be ensured to be at interest for borrowers. With this loan type, the bank will keep documents related to the assets used for mortgage. Mortgage loans should be picked when you need money to use for large investments such as opening a business, stock investment, buying a house, etc. The approved loan limit can be significantly high as it can get up to 70% – 100% worth of your mortgage assets.
Installment loan
When using an installment loan to purchase a product, you will not have to pay the entire price of the product at the time it is purchased. An installment loan is a loan that is repaid over time with a set number of scheduled payments. To meet different needs, banks and financial institutions will have different interest rates and repayment periods for customers to choose based on their financial capabilities. This loan type is suitable for customers who are still in universities or have only been employed for a short period of time that need money to buy necessary facilities to support their education or their jobs.

3/ Things to consider before getting a loan

With all these available loan types offered by banks and financial institutions, you need to carefully consider your needs as well as all information related to the loan type you are aiming for. Personal factors needed to be considered include: your loan purpose, your desired loan limit, your monthly income, your repayment capability, assets that can be used for mortgage, etc.

Some important information related to the loan type you are aiming for can be the lowest & highest available loan limit, the length of time it can be used for, repayment method, interest rates and how interest is calculated, all terms & conditions related to the loan type, reputation of the selected bank, etc. Equally, you should carefully discuss and consult bank staff to be able to choose the most suitable loan type for yourself.