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This is not truth; I have a regular debit card from HSBC and can withdraw money from all ATM abroad! I used my Card in China, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and no Problem!

RayG wrote:

ssuprnova wrote:

Does HSBC allow you to access your VN account from abroad? Say, if I had a USD account here, could I go back home and withdraw cash there without getting hit with a million fees?

I know this answer is late but the answer is "no" unless you are a Premier customer

This is not truth; I have a regular debit card from HSBC and can withdraw money from all ATM abroad! I used my Card in China, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and no Problem! Also can send Money from my online account (EURO / USD) to a Bank in Europe!

AustriaKarl wrote:

This is not truth; I have a regular debit card from HSBC and can withdraw money from all ATM abroad! I used my Card in China, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and no Problem!

1. I can do the same with my US HSBC debit card but the fees are considerable and  of course ATM withdrawals are limited to the least amount permitted by any of the banks involved.. What you can't do without paying the regular fees for wire transfers (unless you're a Premier customer) is to move money from a HSBC account in one country to another country.even to another HSBC account.

2. HSBC does not apply the same rules and conditions in all the countries where they operate.  My friend has an ATM card from HSBC in Singapore and he gets a much better deal on everything than I do.

3. Unless you're a Premier Customer (usually about USD$100,000 in HSBC accounts)  there is usually no advantage to HSCB operating in so many countries.  For HSBC accounts in many countries (e.g. US) they do not cooperate, exchange information, or give you a better deal.  I thought they would and that's one reason why I have HSBC accounts. I no longer use those accounts for much because of their high fees.

4. I opened my first account with the company back in 1970 when they were Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.  I've never gotten a break from them on account of being customer for 44 years but they have rather consistently raised their fees and added new fees.

5. For American citizens and residents the most international-friendly US bank I've encountered is USAA Federal Savings Bank.  They have almost no bricks and mortar branches but are a full-service bank that has been dealing with their customers all over the world since they were founded.  American Express won't replace a lost or expired card when you're in Vietnam but USAA will, no problems.

AustriaKarl wrote:

NO US Citizen will be welcome to any Bank because of the IRS FACTA regulation! (Moderated: no rude comment on the forum pls)

I'm a US citizen and have VND and USD accounts at Vietcombank, Vietinbank, and ACB bank.

Hi everybody,

Please note that some inappropriate comments have been removed from this discussion.

Thanks

Priscilla 

RayG wrote:

AustriaKarl wrote:

NO US Citizen will be welcome to any Bank because of the IRS FACTA regulation! (Moderated: no rude comment on the forum pls)

I'm a US citizen and have VND and USD accounts at Vietcombank, Vietinbank, and ACB bank.

Please try to open a new account? Most of the banks will not appreciate a new customer if he is US citizen because of new regulation from IRS namely FACTA (from 07-2014). This not affects only Vietnam but rather all banks around the world whose country's assigned the FACTA agreement with US! Also in Europe the banks are not more interested to do business with US citizen unless you come with certain amount of money?
“FATCA will also require foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) to report directly to the IRS certain information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest.”
In plain English, this means that overseas financial institutions now face a massive amount of paperwork, on top of the IRS' standard reporting requirements. This law shifts a large portion of the liability for tax fraud from the individual (who is already subject to harsh federal penalties for tax delinquency) to the overseas bank, which is subject to American law in its dealings with American investors / account holder but isn't otherwise under the jurisdiction of the federal government. You can get mote information from your Bank or from the US Embassy!

AustriaKarl,  I'll keep that in mind should I need a 7th account with a Vietnamese bank.

I had been reading this thread from the start and itching to talk about FATCA and then finally someone did. But I will start a separate thread for it tomorrow so i dont hijack this one.

IMHO, if you are a US citizen or resident and are doing some major cheating on your US taxes you shouldn't be getting your banking and tax advice off an Expat.com.

If you are a US citizen or resident and have had signature authority over foreign bank accounts with a total value of $10,000 or more then you need to file "Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)"  see IRS website on FBAR  no big deal

Any bank which does not have an office in the USA will be happy to have US citizens as customers as they cannot be blackmailed. FACTA compliance only applies to banks operating in the USA.

Most every bank is a SWIFT subscriber so they can still move funds around. SWIFT is EU-based.

The best way is CASH, really frustrates the nosy people. All credit card usage is accessible by US authorities.

If you need credit card facilities, use a prepaid (burner) card purchased by someone else, if the issuer requires ID. You can carry unlimited funds across borders in these cards without breaching regulations.

I'm wondering how the new US relationship with Vietnam will change Vietnamese government attitudes towards US citizens, and if they'll relax rules regarding money transfer.
As for trying to cheat the IRS, I would suspect that's a very bad idea.
They have massive back up, and the US government needs as much cash as it can get, more so as BRICS takes over world trade.

mas fred wrote:

I'm wondering how the new US relationship with Vietnam will change Vietnamese government attitudes towards US citizens, and if they'll relax rules regarding money transfer.

Relationships vis-a-vis other countries and relaxing money transfer are not related.

mas fred wrote:

They have massive back up, and the US government needs as much cash as it can get, more so as BRICS takes over world trade.

If the USA wants money, let them go tax Apple or Amazon or Facebook who are holding trillions of dollars is profits in off shore accounts awaiting a sweetheart deal from Congress. The 99% are paying plenty already.

The new relationship  may well have many results.
America is going to re-arm Vietnam, supplying weapons for 'free', and I'll bet they'll want something back.
That's quite likely to include access to Vietnam's records on foreigners, and may well mean changes to rules regarding cash.
Welcome to bent international politics.

Jaitch wrote:

If the USA wants money, let them go tax Apple or Amazon or Facebook who are holding trillions of dollars is profits in off shore accounts awaiting a sweetheart deal from Congress.

Not quite "trillions" and Amazon or Facebook aren't part of it, since they don't really make money.  GE holds the largest amount off-shore, but it's not sexy to piss on GE.



http://www.forbes.com/sites/conniegugli … tudy-says/

DanFromSF wrote:

Not quite "trillions" and Amazon or Facebook aren't part of it, since they don't really make money.

Better chat to EU tax people, they don't agree with you.

Google 'Double Irish With A Dutch Sandwich'. The double Irish with a Dutch sandwich technique is just one of a class of similar international tax avoidance schemes.

Jaitch wrote:

Better chat to EU tax people, they don't agree with you.

They don't need to agree with me, they just need to look at their net income.  It's tiny:



In order to hold profits off-shore, you need to first make profits.  Neither Amazon nor Facebook is making much. Facebook kept less than $8 billion last year, foreign and domestic. Even if 50%  of that is offshore, whoop-dee-doo.

Jaitch wrote:

Any bank which does not have an office in the USA will be happy to have US citizens as customers as they cannot be blackmailed. FACTA compliance only applies to banks operating in the USA.

Most every bank is a SWIFT subscriber so they can still move funds around. SWIFT is EU-based.

The best way is CASH, really frustrates the nosy people. All credit card usage is accessible by US authorities.

If you need credit card facilities, use a prepaid (burner) card purchased by someone else, if the issuer requires ID. You can carry unlimited funds across borders in these cards without breaching regulations.

I have to disagree---for the moment--which I will take up in a new thread called Americans Banking in VN. Lets have FATCA discussion there and leave this thread as the OP wanted. less confusing.

DanFromSF wrote:

Jaitch wrote:

Better chat to EU tax people, they don't agree with you.

They don't need to agree with me, they just need to look at their net income.  It's tiny:

http://a16z.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/1.png

In order to hold profits off-shore, you need to first make profits.  Neither Amazon nor Facebook is making much. Facebook kept less than $8 billion last year, foreign and domestic. Even if 50%  of that is offshore, whoop-dee-doo.

If you understand the concept of "net income" then you would know that your comments are simply wrong on many levels.

As I do not wish to get into an argument on a board I just joined I will also include that I am a qualified accountant with a Master of Professional Accounting as well as a Master of Business Administration, but more importantly spent 10 years as an investigator for the ATO which is the Australian version of the IRS.

Also RayG - with all due respect - you may do the right thing and that is great - but the reporting requirements of the IRS under the Act that has been mentioned would be a factor in stopping "new accounts" as some have mentioned - in time maybe it will also kick older accounts.

Perhaps the banks are taking a wait and see as to how the IRS wants to play. If the IRS gets too carried away the banks may indeed start going back into their accounts and kicking people, unless those accounts are grandfathered from the US legislation.

The US using everything at its disposal .. and i do mean everything to bully other countries into these sorts of reporting requirements. These requirements not only can go against policies of banks and governments of other powers, but ask yourself - who pays for the compliance ? it is not the US Government, it is not the individual US customer of the foreign bank, it is everyone else who is going to be paying for the time and effort required by the bank to comply with something that is nothing to do with them.

So go to the media or whatever someone earlier was saying, but get it right - its not foreign banks discriminating against US citizens, it is the US government making it not worthwhile for foreigners to deal with US citizens.

Aussie Dave said it right and its worse than that, too. Anyway, suggest using the adjacent thread about IRS and FATCA so that this thread can be for those not affected by those schemes.

Jaitch wrote:

Any bank which does not have an office in the USA will be happy to have US citizens as customers as they cannot be blackmailed. FACTA compliance only applies to banks operating in the USA.

Most every bank is a SWIFT subscriber so they can still move funds around. SWIFT is EU-based.

The best way is CASH, really frustrates the nosy people. All credit card usage is accessible by US authorities.

If you need credit card facilities, use a prepaid (burner) card purchased by someone else, if the issuer requires ID. You can carry unlimited funds across borders in these cards without breaching regulations.

Mr. Doctor Know-ALL: Im Aufsichtsrat der SWIFT sind die Notenbanken der Vereinigten Staaten, Belgiens, Deutschlands, Frankreichs, Großbritanniens, Italiens, Japans, Kanadas, der Niederlande, und Schwedens vertreten. Die politische Kontrolle der SWIFT wird de fakto durch die US Regierung ausgeübt.
So much for "Is EU BASED" :-)

Any updates on which banks are nowadays the  best for opening an account for a foreigner?

Seems like someone just got his ass kicked again,as usual he doesn't come back when he knows people are seeing through him.

Hi
i am hoping to come to Vietnam in January 2015, and also hoping to open an account with Vietcombank.
i have been informed that the bank requires a passport also showing a six month visa.

as the Vietnamese Govt only now grants  three months visa will i have any problem opening an account?

thanks for any response PHil

philcon wrote:

Hi
i am hoping to come to Vietnam in January 2015, and also hoping to open an account with Vietcombank.
i have been informed that the bank requires a passport also showing a six month visa.

as the Vietnamese Govt only now grants  three months visa will i have any problem opening an account?

thanks for any response PHil

I have opened three accounts at Vietcombank with a passport showing only a 90 day stay.

I recommend the branch at  10 đường Võ Văn Kiệt- phường Nguyễn Thái Bình- Quận 1 HCM as they seem to handle a lot of expats and are kind of the defacto head office for HCM.

I have a bank account with HD bank,same people who own VietJet. They are a young bank with young staff and seem to go out of their way to help when a problem arises. I wouldn't bank with Vietcommbank as they are too staunch in their attitude towards customers and are not very flexible. I think with a three month visa in your passport you won't have a problem opening an account here,Vietcommbank may be different.

ok thanks Ray
This is good news i was getting a little worried, i would have to keep using an overseas ATMS.
I plan to stay for at least 6 months maybe longer. I'll cut an paste that bank address into google.
and give them a go.

Cheers Phil

thanks for the info
i am looking for a bank with the most atms as i intend to see as much of Vietnam as i can
so i will keep HD bank in mind if i fail with Vietcom.

Thanks mate

Just as in our typical home countries things vary from bank to bank and in Vietnam they can vary from branch to branch. Especially here don't assume that a bank will do something you need or want done.. For example I was surprised to find that the bank I used at first charges an additional fee if I transact any business anywhere other than at the branch where I opened the account and another bank would not put the dollars they paid out to me on a Western Union transfer into my USD account.  It's best to ask about things that you may want to do and be sure to ask someone who seems to understand English well enough to give you a real answer.  Best of luck.

Oh, and if you bring in currency be sure to declare it on the customs form at the airport.  There's no special form. You just write out what currency and how much you're bringing in on the standard customs declaration.  Then keep your stamped copy of that form as you may need it when you want to deposit the money into a bank or take it back out of the country when you leave. There's an amount under which you don't have to worry about that but off-hand I don't know what that is.  Better safe than sorry.

Ray Ok thanks again for this info
I don't mind paying any reasonable bank fees, when I use their facilities.
I intend bringing $10,000, heading straight over to Vietcom bank.
Open deposit account with atm card facility.
I will be in district 14, for four weeks so I hope this is not too far
From the address you gave me.
Cheers Phil

I hope you realise there is no D14, maybe you mean D4.

Phil,
With $10k you should definitely fill out a customs declaration at the airport before you go through customs and keep a stamped copy.
Vietcombank ATM cards are personalized with your name so be sure to allow some time (days) for them to make it up.
Until you get the card you can withdraw money at any Vietcombank with your passport.
I've always gone back to the branch to pick-up ATM cards when they're ready.
Every time you do any in person business at a bank they'll check your passport. (No matter how well they know you)
aloha,  ray

Thanks Ray
"I've always gone back to the branch to pick-up ATM cards when they're ready"

Thanks for clarifying this
This was one issue i was worried about, as i will not have a permanent address or mail box to start.
in Australia we have POBoxes which we can pick up our mail from. So being able to pick up ATM card at
the branch is really convenient.

Cheers Phil

philcon wrote:

Thanks Ray
"I've always gone back to the branch to pick-up ATM cards when they're ready"

Thanks for clarifying this
This was one issue i was worried about, as i will not have a permanent address or mail box to start.
in Australia we have POBoxes which we can pick up our mail from. So being able to pick up ATM card at
the branch is really convenient.

Cheers Phil

They've asked me for an address but they've never used it for anything.  If you know someone here it would be good to use that address .... just in case.  Otherwise just use the address of where you happen to be staying.  They MIGHT take a foreign address, I never asked.

philcon wrote:

Ray Ok thanks again for this info
I don't mind paying any reasonable bank fees, when I use their facilities.
I intend bringing $10,000, heading straight over to Vietcom bank.
Open deposit account with atm card facility.
I will be in district 14, for four weeks so I hope this is not too far
From the address you gave me.
Cheers Phil

Why take the risk of carrying $10k, when you can transfer it online from your Bank in Aus, ( $20 Westpac ), open your Bank account in VN, once you have the VN Banks Swift number, ( you can even find it online  ) and your VN Bank account number, it's a 2 day transfer. ( your Bank might ask you for a VN phone number, if you don't have roaming, mine sends me an sms to ok a transaction. This way you automatically have a record of where your money came from.
  Addresses, You can use a hotel for your address, just let them know.

Exactly what I was thinking,setup the account and then send it. You will always have a bank statement to verify it when you want to leave.

Miley vu wrote:

Why dont you bank with ANZ Vietnam as you're Australian. Even when you back to your country, it's still usefull for you.

ANZ Viet Nam is different to ANZ Australia they are not linked as they are two seperate governments.

colinoscapee wrote:

Miley vu wrote:

Why dont you bank with ANZ Vietnam as you're Australian. Even when you back to your country, it's still usefull for you.

ANZ Viet Nam is different to ANZ Australia they are not linked as they are two seperate governments.

I read recently the VN Govt pulled the licences of some Banks branches, and the ANZ was mentioned.

Hi thanks for your suggestion

This would be issue 2:  How to keep topping up my  vietnam bank account ( when and if i can set one up)

Well The main reason i intended to bring the cash is to avoid the conversion fee the bank charges.

My bank asked for $30 to transfer the cash and 3% to convert which comes to approximately

$330 i think this is a wee bit too much

Cheers Phil

Hi
Anz charge too much on conversion fees
Well The main reason i intended to bring the cash is to avoid the conversion fee the bank charges.

My bank asked for $30 to transfer the cash and 3% to convert which comes to approximately

$330 i think this is a wee bit too much

Cheers Phil