Vietinbank to utilize SMS debt payment system

Vietinbank is demanding debt payment via SMS messages to help reduce its bad and late-paying debts as well as building the good habit of clearing debt on time.

Traditionally, banks will send their reminding letters and documents to their individual customers’ houses or enterprise-borrowers’ offices before the loans are due.

“The task is time-consuming and customers may clear their debts late in case the reminding documents are lost on their way,” a Vietinbank official said.

This new method, which has been operational merely for individual customers since last year, will send SMS messages to registered customers of the bank to remind them of outstanding loans seven days before the due date.

This is voluntary as a message costs VND1,650 from customer’s phone account and will be sent during 7:00am to 11:00pm every day, the bank informed. It added that customers can register for as many as five phone numbers to receive the debt-reminding messages.