Current Account in English
Current Account (Tài khoản vãng lai), also known as a Demand Deposit Account, is a transactional bank account that allows unlimited deposits and withdrawals without prior notice to the bank.
The CASA Concept
CASA (Current Account & Savings Account) represents the proportion of low-cost deposits in a bank's total funding mix.
CASA Ratio = (CASA Balance / Total Deposits) × 100%
A higher CASA ratio means lower funding costs for the bank, as current accounts typically earn little to no interest.
Current Account vs. Savings Account
| Feature | Current Account | Savings Account |
|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | Near zero | Higher, term-based |
| Withdrawals | Unlimited | May incur penalties |
| Purpose | Daily transactions | Long-term savings |
| Overdraft | Available | Not typically |
Business Features
- Payroll & supplier payments: Bulk transfers via corporate Internet Banking.
- Customer collections: Receive payments via transfer, card, QR.
- Overdraft facility: Spend beyond balance with bank approval.
For Vietnamese SMEs, a dedicated current account is essential for separating personal and business finances — a key requirement when applying for bank loans.
How a Current Account Works in Practice
Unlike a savings account, where the bank pays you interest to "hold" your money longer, a current account works the opposite way: it is built for velocity, not yield. Money moves in and out constantly — payroll, supplier invoices, customer receipts, tax payments — and the account holder pays the bank a small fee (or earns near-zero interest) in exchange for that flexibility.
For a Vietnamese SME, the current account is usually the operational backbone:
- Inflow: customer payments via bank transfer, POS/card acceptance (POS là gì), or QR codes (especially popular under the VietQR standard promoted by Napas and the State Bank).
- Outflow: salary disbursements, supplier settlements, VAT and tax remittances, loan installments.
- Cash management tools: many banks offer sweep accounts, pooled balances, or API integration for accounting software (MISA, Bravo, etc.) so the current account becomes the live data source for bookkeeping.
Why Banks Care About Current Accounts: The CASA Angle
For the bank, a current account is far more valuable than it looks. Current and Savings Accounts together form CASA, the cheapest source of funding for any bank. The CASA ratio — CASA deposits divided by total deposits — is one of the most-watched metrics in bank quarterly reports because:
- A higher CASA ratio generally means lower cost of funds, which supports net interest income (NIM).
- Current accounts are "sticky" for businesses: once a firm runs payroll and supplier payments through one bank, switching is operationally painful.
- This is why banks often waive account maintenance fees or assign a dedicated RM (relationship manager) to SME current accounts — the funding base is the prize, not the fee income.
CASA Ratio = (CASA Deposits ÷ Total Deposits) × 100%
A higher CASA ratio is generally associated with stronger retail/SME franchise and lower funding costs.
Overdraft, Credit Lines, and the Loan Connection
One feature that makes the current account strategic for SMEs is the overdraft facility (OD) — a pre-arranged limit that lets the account go negative up to an agreed cap, paying interest only on the amount used. OD is popular with SMEs because:
- It covers timing gaps (e.g., paying suppliers before customer payment arrives).
- Interest is calculated daily on the utilized balance, so unused capacity is free.
This is also why most lenders require a dedicated business current account during loan underwriting — it gives the bank a clean, auditable cash trail (monthly turnover, salary run, supplier regularity) to judge repayment capacity. When an SME applies for a loan through a matching platform, lenders typically ask for the current account statements of the last 6–12 months as primary evidence of business health.
Current Account vs. Savings Account
| Feature | Current Account | Savings Account |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Daily transactions | Parking idle cash |
| Interest rate | Near zero | Higher, tier-based |
| Withdrawal limits | Unlimited | May have caps or penalties |
| Overdraft facility | Usually available | Rarely available |
| Typical user | Businesses, traders | Individuals, emergency funds |
| Bank's strategic value | High (CASA base) | Moderate |
(Nội dung mang tính tham khảo, không thay thế tư vấn chuyên môn về sản phẩm ngân hàng cụ thể.)
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Current Account có phải là tài khoản "không kỳ hạn" giống savings không? Không hoàn toàn. Cả hai đều là demand deposit (rút tiền không cần báo trước), nhưng current account ưu tiên giao dịch tần suất cao với lãi suất gần 0%, còn savings account ưu tiên giữ tiền nhàn rỗi với lãi suất cao hơn.
Tại sao ngân hàng quan tâm CASA ratio nhiều đến vậy? Vì current + savings là nguồn vốn rẻ nhất của ngân hàng. CASA ratio càng cao, chi phí vốn (cost of funds) càng thấp, biên lãi ròng (NIM) thường được hỗ trợ tốt hơn.
Doanh nghiệp có cần tách tài khoản current riêng khi vay vốn không? Có. Hầu hết lender yêu cầu sao kê current account 6–12 tháng gần nhất để đánh giá doanh thu, dòng tiền và khả năng trả nợ. Trộn tiền cá nhân và doanh nghiệp vào một tài khoản sẽ gây khó cho thẩm định.
Overdraft trên current account có khác gì vay vốn thông thường không? OD linh hoạt hơn: chỉ trả lãi trên số tiền đã sử dụng theo ngày, không rút thì không mất phí. Vay thông thường giải ngân một lần và trả lãi trên toàn bộ dư nợ theo dư nợ ban đầu hoặc dư nợ giảm dần tùy phương thức.