Selling phones on instalments without a finance company

ABMDM Editorial Team. Published: 02/11/2026.

Can a shop sell on instalments without a finance company?

Under Article 453 of the 2015 Civil Code, deferred or instalment sale is allowed under a written contract: the parties agree that the buyer pays later or in instalments after receiving the goods. The seller keeps ownership until the buyer has paid in full, unless the parties agree otherwise.

This provision comes from an excerpt on a legal advice site, not from an official portal. Check the official text or ask a lawyer before you open. The two hard parts are holding the phone after hand-over and the line with lending money. Both are covered below.

How is a deferred sale different from lending money?

The 2024 Law on Credit Institutions defines lending as a form of credit in which the lender hands over, or commits to hand over, a sum of money to a customer on a repayable basis. Banking activity is the regular provision of banking operations as a business, and an organisation or individual that is not a credit institution but carries out banking activity commits a prohibited act (Article 15, clause 2).

In form, handing over a phone that the customer pays for over time is a deferred sale under Article 453, not giving the customer money. This is the common reading; no official source in this article confirms where the line between a deferred sale and credit activity falls, so have a lawyer confirm your model before you open instead of reasoning from this article.

Activity	Nature	Can the shop do it itself?
Hand over the phone, customer pays by contract	Deferred or instalment sale	Under Article 453, with a written contract
Give the customer money, collect it back with repayment	Lending, extending credit	Ask a lawyer before doing it
Keep the phone until fully paid	Retention of ownership	Under Article 453, state it in the contract

What paperwork and conditions do you need to open?

First, business registration. The national business registration portal runs separate online systems for enterprises and for household businesses, so file in the system for the form you choose: dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn. For tax, invoices and bookkeeping, ask the tax office or your accountant; this article gives no figures.

For instalment sales specifically, the shop needs:

• A written contract template for each phone.
• ID documents of the person named on the contract, stored in line with personal data rules.
• Capital to buy phones up front and collect payments over time. How much depends on how many phones you plan to sell; there is no single figure.
• A way to hold the phone after hand-over; otherwise all you can do is phone customers one by one.

What should an instalment contract say?

The contract is in writing. These points belong in it, and a lawyer should adapt them to your shop:

• Which phone: model and serial number or IMEI.
• The total the customer pays, the number of instalments, due dates and the amount of each, stated clearly up front.
• The phone belongs to the shop until the customer has paid in full (retention of ownership).
• The customer agrees that the shop manages the phone with MDM. Location is viewed only when the phone is lost or the contract is overdue, and every view is logged.
• What happens when overdue: reminders from 7am to 9pm, gradual restriction in tiers, unlock when the customer pays.
• On payoff, the phone leaves management.

The buyer may use the phone and bears the risk while using it, unless the parties agree otherwise (Article 453). Tell the customer this at signing, not after the phone is broken or lost.

Can you charge interest?

Article 453 sets no interest rate. Article 468 of the Civil Code says loan interest is agreed by the parties and may not exceed 20% a year of the amount borrowed. Article 468 is written for loan contracts.

Whether the gap between the cash price and the instalment price counts as interest and falls under that cap, this article has no official source to conclude. The safe way is to state the total the customer pays when they sign, add no hidden charges, and ask a lawyer how to present the difference.

How do you hold the phone when a customer is late?

For iPhone, the shop enrols the phone in Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Manager) and ABMDM before hand-over, links the phone to the contract, then runs reminders and tiered locks. The full model is in selling iPhones on instalments with MDM.

What ABMDM does today:

1. Contract, payment schedule and balance linked to each phone.
2. A reminder on the lock screen and due-date reminders from 7am to 9pm, only to the person named on the contract.
3. Locks in three tiers, restricting step by step; the customer can still call and has a way to pay on the screen. See tiered locks for instalment phones.
4. The customer pays by VietQR and the phone unlocks itself; on payoff the phone leaves management.

A page where customers look up their own contract and pay themselves is listed as Coming soon and is not yet part of the service. For now the shop works from the console and the shop phone number shown on the lock screen.

Do not wipe a phone over a few late days, do not read a customer's messages, and do not lock a relative's phone or lock outside 7am–9pm.

What does the management software cost?

Retail price is 17,000 VND per device per month before VAT, charged by the day, with a 30-day minimum per device. Paying annually is 20% cheaper. Dealers and shops with many phones: contact us for a price. Details are on the pricing page. Tiered locks and VietQR are included in the price, as the device financing page describes.

What should be done before the first instalment sale?

• Register the business in the right form.
• Have a written contract template a lawyer has looked at, with a retention-of-ownership clause and consent to manage the phone.
• Decide how to present the total price, with no hidden charges.
• Connect Apple Business to ABMDM, then test lock and unlock on one of the shop's own phones.
• Write the reminder with the shop phone number and connect VietQR.

To set the three tiers for the first time, call 0913 081 986 (8am–9pm).