---
title: "Introduction and what's new"
url: https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/gioi-thieu
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-21
alternate:
  vi: https://phatdev.net/docs/creditmate/gioi-thieu
markdown: https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/gioi-thieu.md
---

# Introduction and what's new

Part of the doc set: [CreditMate](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate.md)

> What CreditMate is, its three principles, major changes by version and the documentation index.

**CreditMate** is an iPhone and iPad app that helps cardholders in Vietnam manage credit cards, consumer loans and pay-later wallets on one clear screen. It answers four everyday questions: how much do I owe, which statement is due next, how much of my real limit is still available, and which card should I use for this purchase.

> **Current version: 0.3.0** (2026-10-08), version 0.4.0 in progress · iOS/iPadOS 18 or later · See the [Changelog](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/changelog).

<div style="margin:1.6em 0"><figure style="margin:0"><a href="https://phatdev.net/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-light-3840.webp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="pd-th-light" style="display:block;border:0" aria-label="Overview on iPad and iPhone: shared credit limits, upcoming due dates, monthly obligations (sample data) (4K)"><img src="https://phatdev.net/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-light-1920.webp" srcset="/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-light-960.webp 960w, /uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-light-1920.webp 1920w, /uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-light-3840.webp 3840w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 760px" width="3840" height="2160" alt="Overview on iPad and iPhone: shared credit limits, upcoming due dates, monthly obligations (sample data)" loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border:1px solid var(--line);border-radius:12px"></a><a href="https://phatdev.net/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-dark-3840.webp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="pd-th-dark" style="display:block;border:0" aria-label="Overview on iPad and iPhone: shared credit limits, upcoming due dates, monthly obligations (sample data) (4K)"><img src="https://phatdev.net/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-dark-1920.webp" srcset="/uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-dark-960.webp 960w, /uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-dark-1920.webp 1920w, /uploads/p/creditmate/overview-vi-dark-3840.webp 3840w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 760px" width="3840" height="2160" alt="Overview on iPad and iPhone: shared credit limits, upcoming due dates, monthly obligations (sample data)" loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border:1px solid var(--line);border-radius:12px"></a><figcaption style="margin-top:8px;font-size:13px;line-height:1.5;color:var(--muted);text-align:center">Overview on iPad and iPhone: shared credit limits, upcoming due dates, monthly obligations (sample data)</figcaption></figure></div>

The 0.x releases are internal development builds. They are not on the App Store or TestFlight. This documentation describes what the app does at the time of writing.

## Three principles

- **Your data stays on your device.** No account, no CreditMate server. Everything is stored locally, and backups are encrypted with a password of your own. See [Security and privacy](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/bao-mat).
- **Nothing is posted until you confirm.** Imports, statement reading and assistant suggestions only create drafts. The ledger is written only after you review and confirm, with a guard against double posting.
- **Unknown is not zero.** When a figure is missing, the app shows "Unknown" or "Not updated yet" and never silently counts it as 0. Money is calculated with exact integers, never floating point numbers.

## What's new

| Version | Date | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 0.4.0 (coming soon) | In progress | Payment-details vault with its own PIN; pasting many bank notifications at once; importing transactions from VIB and OCB history screenshots; a date-aware offers library for 27 banks; ChatGPT cost tracking; early payoff compared with continuing to pay; user profile; loans that use up card limit; English translation |
| 0.3.0 | 2026-10-08 | Floating assistant bubble; Claude as the fourth AI source; consumer loans with three repayment methods |
| 0.2.0 | 2026-10-07 | AI assistant core; card art drawn in SwiftUI; Insights screen; create, move, merge and split shared-limit groups |
| 0.1.0 | 2026-10-07 | Foundation: exact money, ledger, installments, offers, statement import, encrypted backup, reminders |

## Documentation contents

### Getting started
- [Install and get started](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/cai-dat): requirements, building from source, first launch.

### Cards and debt
- [Card wallet and shared limits](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/vi-the): several banks and cards, limits counted once.
- [Installments, loans and BNPL](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/tra-gop-khoan-vay): repayment methods, effective annual rate, early payoff.

### Import and advice
- [Statements, SMS and screenshots](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/nhap-du-lieu): every data source goes through drafts.
- [Card advice, offers and annual fees](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/goi-y-the): which card to use for each purchase.
- [AI assistant](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/tro-ly-ai): questions and drafts.

### Security and engineering
- [Security and privacy](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/bao-mat): app lock, payment-details vault, backups.
- [Architecture and engineering rules](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/kien-truc): code structure, money rules, testing.
- [Changelog](https://phatdev.net/en/docs/creditmate/changelog): changes by version.