Citibank - global account link between US and Vietnam?

It could be that the reason the VN employees are not too helpful, other than the normally low level of customer service in VN, is that it all happens from the US side in a service they call Citibank Global Transfer (CGI).  Also remember that Citi VN is not a branch of Citibank but is structured as a separate bank with Citi in New York owning some unspecified percentage.

First, if you haven't already, you will need to sign up for online banking on the US side, then input your VN phone number in Personal Profile.  Follow these menus:  Payments and Transfers >> Citibank Global Transfers US-Abroad >> Add a Citibank Global Transfer Recipient. 

At that point you will need to accept an SMS message for a one time code.  (This security check was not needed when I set up my accounts.)  I think they can send it to a VN number but you will need your VN number in your Personal Profile.  You can probably get away with a VN phone number on the US account but you may want to keep the US address if you get certain direct deposits like social security.  After you input the SMS number you will need to input your VN account info.  After that is done, the rest should be self explanatory.

Note that this transfer mechanism is one way only, US to VN.  This service was suspended for a few months in 2013 but restored later.  I was told it was due to the country of VN not meeting certain international conventions but apparently they do now.  One other minor caveat:  I assume you have two current accounts, USD and VND.  You can go direct to the VND account but don't.  It is better to transfer USD to USD then exchange currency later.