Indonesian Fintech Unicorn Kredivo Reportedly Acquires Vietnam's First Digital Bank Timo

Vietnam's first digital bank may be getting a new owner.

TechInAsia first reported that Indonesian fintech unicorn Kredivo Group has completed a 100% acquisition of Timo. Legal documents have reportedly been signed, though the deal value was not disclosed. Neither side has officially confirmed the transaction.

If true, Kredivo plans to invest about $15 million into the Vietnamese market over the next three years, aiming to merge consumer lending and digital banking into a single platform.

What Is Timo?

Timo was founded in 2015 by Don Lam, co-founder and CEO of VinaCapital, one of Vietnam's most prominent asset management firms. The name combines "time" and "money." It was the first purely digital banking brand in Vietnam.

Timo offers payments, savings, investments, insurance, and installment loans, targeting young urban professionals. In 2022, it raised $20 million in a round led by Australian VC firm Square Peg, with participation from Jungle Ventures and Phoenix Holdings, a Vietnamese family office founded by Henry Nguyễn.

Timo operates through a partnership with BVBank (formerly Vietnam Capital Commercial Joint Stock Bank), using BVBank's banking license. This "tech company + licensed bank" model is the only way digital banks can legally operate in Vietnam, which has not yet issued standalone digital banking licenses.

Vietnamese media have reported that Timo has struggled to scale its lending business in recent years, with growth falling short of expectations.

What Is Kredivo?

Kredivo is one of Indonesia's largest buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms. Launched in 2016, its parent company Kredivo Holdings has raised over $660 million in equity and carries a valuation of about $1.6 billion. Investors include Japan's Mizuho Financial Group, Square Peg, and Jungle Ventures.

Kredivo's core business is consumer credit. Shoppers on e-commerce platforms can choose installment payments at checkout, with Kredivo handling instant underwriting and risk assessment. In Indonesia, it's already integrated into Tokopedia, Shopee, and Bukalapak.

In August 2021, Kredivo entered Vietnam — its first market outside Indonesia — through a joint venture with Phoenix Holdings, partnering with local lender VietCredit to offer BNPL services.

Kredivo has been moving fast lately. In December 2025, it secured over $100 million in financing from Mizuho. In February 2025, it acquired Indonesian earned-wage-access startup GajiGesa. The Timo deal would be its third major move in quick succession.

Why Timo?

After nearly five years doing BNPL in Vietnam, Kredivo knows that installment payments are just a small piece of the financial services pie. Acquiring Timo lets it graft its consumer lending technology onto a digital banking platform — upgrading from "just installments" to "one-stop financial services."

The integration plan has two phases: first, embed Kredivo's underwriting tech into Timo's system; second, launch card-based payment products. Timo's brand will be kept. Kredivo's Vietnam operations will gradually fold into the Timo platform, overseen by Kredivo co-founder and CEO Akshay Garg.

One connection worth noting: Phoenix Holdings was both an early investor in Timo and Kredivo's joint venture partner when it entered Vietnam in 2021. That existing relationship likely served as the bridge for this deal.

Vietnam's financial environment also works in Kredivo's favor. Credit card penetration is very low — most consumers have no traditional credit instruments. At the same time, smartphone adoption is high, and the mobile payments market is projected to exceed $50 billion in 2026. Consumers are used to handling finances on their phones, but traditional banks' digital services haven't kept up. That gap is exactly what Kredivo wants to fill.

Vietnam's Digital Banking Landscape

Timo was first, but the field has gotten crowded.

MoMo has evolved from an e-wallet into a super app offering everything from bill payments to stock trading. It leads Vietnam's e-wallet market. ZaloPay leverages the massive user base of Zalo, Vietnam's dominant messaging app, to expand in payments. VNPay dominates QR code payments.

These players all started with payments and expanded into other financial services. Kredivo's approach with Timo goes the other direction: start with lending, then use a banking platform to expand into payments and savings.

In July 2025, Vietnam also launched a fintech regulatory sandbox (Decree No. 94), allowing innovative financial services to operate in a controlled environment. For foreign fintech companies like Kredivo, that's a policy tailwind.

Southeast Asian Fintech Enters the Consolidation Phase

Over the past few years, fintech startups have proliferated across Southeast Asia, but most are still burning cash to acquire users. As markets mature and fundraising tightens, cross-border M&A becomes the fastest way to pick up users and licenses.

Kredivo picked Vietnam for good reasons: nearly 100 million people, a young population, extremely low credit card penetration, and rapid mobile payment adoption. These conditions make Vietnam one of the most contested markets for fintech in Southeast Asia.