Be Group, the Vietnamese owner and developer of ride-hailing app Be, has inked a deal with digital bank Cake by VPBank to offer Be driver-partners consumer loans with special interest rates starting from 1.67% per month.
This is the first time in Vietnam that a digital bank offers consumer loan packages with preferential lending rates to ride-hailing drivers.
Under the deal, Be driver-partners can take out collateral-free loans of VND3-20 million (US$130-870) for three to 24 months without application fees.
Through the digital bank’s big data processing system and the Be Group ecosystem, it will take Be drivers 30 seconds only to register for a loan. If they are eligible for a loan, their application will be approved within two minutes and the money will be disbursed after one working day. This whole process will take place online on the BeDriver app, thus Be drivers will not have to conduct in-person transactions to obtain loans.
Ride-hailing drivers are usually classified as subprime borrowers by commercial banks, even though they can earn daily incomes and are able to pay off debts. The classification has limited access to financial services among self-employed workers, posing multiple obstacles to them in the daily life.
In addition, many drivers remain hesitant to access consumer loan packages offered by traditional banks due to complicated requirements about application procedures and evidence of income, and the slow approval and disbursement time.
Therefore, the collaboration between Be Group and Cake to offer consumer loans with lots of outstanding benefits in terms of application procedures, interest rates, approval and disbursement time is expected to enhance Be drivers’ access to safe financial services, as well as improve the livelihood of this group.
Vu Hoang Yen, CEO of Be Group, said: “Although the travel demand among local people has risen sharply post-pandemic and the economy is recovering, there remains many difficulties. Meanwhile, many drivers are the breadwinners. Accordingly, Be Group joined hands with Cake to launch consumer loans with preferential rates for Be drivers with an aim to provide optimal support for drivers, helping them improve their livelihood and avoid loan sharks.”
