Financial inclusion and digital transformation: New driving force to help business households break through

(Chinhphu.vn)-When technology and finance converge, millions of small businesses have the opportunity to change their operating methods, from the informal economy to a transparent system, thanks to the strong implementation of the National Inclusive Financial Strategy.

Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association - Photo: VGP/HT

Promoting financial inclusion – a driving force for digital transformation for business households

On October 17, Nhan Dan Newspaper in collaboration with the Institute of Digital Economic Development Strategy (IDS) organized a seminar "Implementing the National Financial Inclusion Strategy: Opportunities for business households to access financial technology and promote growth".

Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, said: In the context of the Party and State having just issued Resolution 57-NQ/TW and Resolution 68-NQ/TW with breakthrough policies, identifying the private economy as one of the most important driving forces of the economy. These two resolutions create a new legal framework and mindset, aiming at the goal of unlocking all resources, innovating and effectively integrating internationally.

According to statistics, Vietnam currently has more than 5 million business households, contributing about 30% of GDP and creating more than 10 million jobs. However, the process of converting from business households to enterprises is still slow, facing many legal barriers, limitations in accessing capital, technology and modern financial services. Therefore, financial inclusion and digital transformation are considered the key to help business households grow and contribute more effectively to the economy.

Seminar "Implementing the National Financial Inclusion Strategy: Opportunities for business households to access financial technology, promoting growth" - Photo: VGP/HT

Technology paves the way for financial inclusion

The National Financial Inclusion Strategy aims to ensure that all people – especially vulnerable groups and millions of small businesses – have equitable access to basic financial products and services. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation not only helps reduce costs and increase transparency, but also expands the ability to borrow capital, manage, and participate deeply in modern value chains.

In fact, fintech platforms such as MoMo, Finviet, EVNFinance (EVF) and international enterprises such as NICE (Korea) or Sojitz (Japan) have strongly contributed to this process. They bring many financial digitalization solutions, skills training, legal guidance for business households, narrowing the technology gap between regions, and helping households gradually upgrade to small and medium enterprises.

Thanks to the integration of AI, Big Data, Blockchain, IoT technologies, digital financial platforms have helped businesses optimize costs, reduce risks and easily access legitimate capital sources. This marks an important step on the path to financial inclusion and digital transformation, helping businesses improve their competitiveness and move closer to the digital economy.

According to Mr. Le Quoc Minh, Resolutions 57 and 68 of the Politburo both emphasize the spirit of institutional breakthroughs, eliminating prejudice against the private sector, ensuring freedom of business and fair competition.

"Building a transparent and stable business environment and accompanying enterprises is considered an important foundation to create trust and unleash internal strength," said Mr. Le Quoc Minh.

Dr. Tran Van, Institute for Digital Economic Development Strategy (IDS) - Photo: VGP/HT

Dr. Tran Van, Director of IDS, shared: The General Secretary has repeatedly emphasized that rapid development requires science and digital transformation. This is a mandatory requirement, not a decorative thing.

Mr. Tran Van said that after nearly 40 years of innovation, Vietnam is facing the opportunity to make a strong breakthrough thanks to national digital transformation. Previously, only large enterprises had the conditions to digitize, but now small businesses can also take advantage of fintech platforms to access new opportunities.

Thanks to the application of technology, even in remote areas, many small businesses have saved costs, increased efficiency, expanded their scale and gradually legalized their operations. It is technology that has helped them transform from "compulsory livelihood" to "business joy", opening up opportunities to become real entrepreneurs.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, former Head of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Group, said that fintech has created a strong push for the market. Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien commented: "Cashless payments have helped equalize access to financial services, regardless of business size. This is a push to help change the structure of the traditional financial services market."

According to the research team, Vietnam is still mainly operating under the banking agency model, while many countries such as China, Singapore, and South Korea have switched to digital banking. The ability to develop fintech domestically is still limited by slow-changing policies, requiring management agencies to soon have a more flexible legal corridor.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, General Director of Finviet - Photo: VGP

From a business perspective, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, General Director of Finviet, shared: Vietnam has more than 5 million business households, contributing nearly 30% of GDP, but 70% have not accessed formal credit, 90% of financial transactions are still informal.

"Therefore, a comprehensive digital solution is the key to removing the bottleneck to help them access transparent capital," said Mr. Hien.

Through ECO Platform, Finviet records each sales transaction as "live data" on revenue and cash flow - the basis for banks to grant credit. ECO Pay solution promotes electronic payments, reducing cash risks; ECO Data Cube analyzes financial behavior, helping to form non-traditional credit profiles.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien cited an example: a store in the Central region that previously had a 3%/month loan, now thanks to electronic invoices and POS ECO, has been granted a limit of 200 million VND by SHB with a much lower interest rate. "That is a comprehensive change, helping business households feel secure in expanding, accumulating and being recognized in the formal financial system," Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien emphasized.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Quang Khai, Deputy Director of MISA Retail Solutions, said: From January 1, 2026, the policy of eliminating lump-sum tax according to Resolution 68 will be implemented. This is a major turning point for business households to transform transparently, moving closer to the enterprise model.

To support the transition period, MISA developed the MISA eShop platform, allowing businesses to sell goods, issue invoices, declare and pay taxes right on their phones. They also receive 3 months of free usage, 5,000 electronic invoices and 1 year of digital signature.

MISA also cooperated with the Tax Department to organize training courses and connect business households with reputable tax agents through the MISA ASP platform. In particular, the MISA Lending platform supports quick loan connections: "5 minutes to submit documents - 1 day of approval - 0 collateral", helping tens of thousands of business households to disburse nearly 14,000 billion VND in just the first 9 months of 2025.

"Thanks to these synchronous solutions, MISA affirms its role as a Vietnamese technology enterprise accompanying the State and people, promoting comprehensive digital transformation in the household business sector - an important foundation for the sustainable development of Vietnam's private economy," said Mr. Nguyen Quang Khai.

Mr. Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/tai-chinh-toan-dien-va-chuyen-doi-so-dong-luc-moi-giup-ho-kinh-doanh-but-pha-102251017145109887.htm