Financial technology (FinTech) has undergone a profound evolution over the past century, fundamentally transforming financial services and markets. Leveraging financial technologies to create customer-centric value are especially pertinent to small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging economies. While there is an expanding body of global research on SME digital transformation and technology adoption, studies focusing on developing countries (and Vietnam in particular) remain relatively limited. This research zeroes in on four pivotal technologies including Blockchain, Internet of things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Big Data Analytics (BDA) - chosen for their profound capacity to reshape Vietnamese retail SMEs. By reviewing previous studies and arguing for the support of such underpinning theories as Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE), Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV), this study has developed a conceptual framework that explicates how fintech adoption influences performance in Vietnamese retail regarding specific perspectives sales growth, Net Profit Margin, Inventory Turnover and ROA. Findings of this study will serve as a foundation to conduct further empirical research, thereby contributes to extant literature and help SME owners and managers gain clarity on which fintech solutions are most beneficial under various conditions in order to make informed investment and operational decisions