Our Principles
05 Core values
We are dedicated and responsive people
01
We respect diversity and value people
02
We commit to comprehensively develop immanent capacity for our partners
03
We inspire staff and stakeholders for creative improvement and innovation to serve the poor better
04
We are transparent, honest and professional
05
07 principles
The following seven principles are prescribed by ACE in the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. They are printed on employee cards and trained in staff training sessions.
01
Over-indebtedness Prevention
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To proceed with the loan-borrowing process, ACE partners must first complete 5 trainings that cover essential finance knowledge to help them understand loan agreements, use the loan effectively, and build a reasonable repayment plan.
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Every household is allowed to borrow one loan at a time. Borrowing loans for someone else is prohibited.
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During the loan application process, the loan officer advise partners on loans suitable for their repayment capacity after assisting partners in calculating total income and total costs for production business activities and family expenses.
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For individuals and households who already hold debt at other banks and organizations, ACE will not proceed with the loan-borrowing process.
Responsible Service Pricing
All costs related to loans are reasonably calculated by the ACE team based on:
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The current income calculation and the repayment capacity of each partner.
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The reference to current market price of other microfinance services provided by other programs and companies.
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The results of the annual Partners Satisfaction Survey conducted by ACE officers.
02
Partner Data Privacy
Personal information/photos of partners are kept confidential in accordance with Vietnamese regulations and laws.
ACE only discloses personal information/photos of partners when having agreement and partners’ consent documented in written form.
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04
Design Appropriate Product and Delivery Channels
The annual Partner Satisfaction survey in 2019 demonstrates that under 90% of the current borrowers are satisfied with the loans services offered by ACE.
05
Fair and respectful treatment of partners
According to the 2020 annual Partner Satisfaction Survey, partners praise ACE’s officers for their friendliness, experience, accessibility, and passion. Some partners regard ACE’s officers as family-like members: “Satisfied with ACE’s officers because they can communicate in my mother tongue, very easy to understand”, “If someone introduces themselves as ACE’s officer, I always feel very assured and confident."
Transparency
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Most of the information and trainings offered to the partners are communicated by their mother tongue - the Thai language.
Partners receive training to help them understand the loan agreement contract, including clear instructions about their responsibilities, authorities, loan amounts, interest rates, and important information. -
Unlike other microfinance programs/institutions in Vietnam, ACE applies reverse rates instead of flat rates. While flat rate calculates profit based on principal without principal debt, ACE’s reverse rate calculates interest based on the actual debt balance. The reverse interest method reflects actual costs to be paid by the borrower when the flat rate hides the actual costs.
Complaint Mechanisms
ACE has designed and instructed our partners on the mechanisms to file complaints when necessary. Partners are encouraged to report any misconduct of ACE’s employees or any solution they come up with to help the Program improve our quality of products and services.
Before receiving a loan, each partner must participate in training that give them awareness about this mechanism.
In any case listed above, partners can reach out to ACE through the hotline number of the Program printed in their personal passbook. They will then receive a Complaint Form to fill out the necessary information that will be sent directly to the Head Office or Branch Offices of ACE.
Finally, group leaders are provided with small informative posters to hang at home. The whole mechanism will assist partners in accessing ACE and filing complaints through multiple channels, including Facebook, Zalo, and hotline.
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