Do you have a preferred US Bank & Vietnamese Bank?

There is a huge amount of information online.  You would be wise to take advantage of one of the the search engines if you haven't already done so.  Not sure why you would need a Vietnamese bank since Chase has branches in Saigon & Hanoi.

Not sure why you would need a Vietnamese bank since Chase has branches in Saigon & Hanoi.
-@williamherron13

Does Chase allow withdrawals from a US Chase account without excessive fees? How about ATM's outside of downtown Hanoi or HCM?

Citi used to allow transfers (Citi US >Citi VN) at minimal cost but I am not sure now.  One advantage of a Citi VN account is that they have no-fee ATM agreements with a long list of local banks. There is scarcely a town too small to not have an Agribank and you can use a CITI VN card there.

When someone asks for a personal recommendation, it's really rude to essentially say, "Google it!"

To the US citizen OP:

Schwab is my recommendation for a USA bank.

(As I previously posted elsewhere in the forum);

...since you are a USA resident, the best solution would be to have an account with a bank that

1. rebates or refunds all of your ATM charges and

2. doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee and also

3. gives you the actual market exchange rate for US Dollars to Việt Nam đồng

4. without any additional foreign exchange fee

Before I moved to Vietnam I opened an account at Charles Schwab. It's an investor account with a checking account. An initial $100 deposit will open it without any subsequent account minimums (I often have $0.00 in the investor account after doing a wire transfer and sometimes my checking account balance drops below $100).

No monthly fees of any kind and the Visa debit card works at any ATM machine worldwide. At the end of every month, Schwab rebates all fees for withdrawals (not for other ATM uses such as balance inquiries). Also, wires cost only $15 which is better than the percentage based fees of WISE (when sending large amounts).

If you keep $25,000 minimum in total account balances, anyone (including non-USA residents) can open an international account which refunds ATM fees immediately and provides FREE wire transfers.

I recommend bringing an ATM card like that, a backup ATM card from a different bank (in case you loose yours or it gets frozen for some reason), a Visa or MasterCard that has no foreign transaction fees and no foreign exchange fees (not American Express).

Best ATM I've found to get larger withdrawals:

MB bank allows ₫5,000,000 VNĐ per withdrawal and you can withdraw up to the daily limit your bank sets (I've withdrawn ₫35,000,000 VNĐ in one visit to an ATM before, with my daily Schwab limit adjusted up from the $1,000 USD default daily limit).

CAUTION: Always be aware of time zone differences.

For example, if you withdraw the maximum daily amount from your US bank account on a Saturday and then you hope to withdraw more funds on the following Monday, be aware it's probably still Sunday at the location of your bank account, and your withdrawal request may be refused until it's Monday back home.

My experience and opinion.

...Not sure why you would need a Vietnamese bank since Chase has branches in Saigon & Hanoi.
-@williamherron13

People who are actually planning to live here in Vietnam and not simply visit from time to time quickly discover that having a DOMESTIC Vietnam bank account enables them to utilize functions such as money transfers for transactions, bills and other purposes which are not otherwise available to foreigners or Việt Kiều.

Also, a deposit account is necessary to open the door for opening an interest-bearing savings account in VNĐ.

Also, since the OP mentioned he will be employed, his Vietnam bank will be able to receive his salary.

If you keep $25,000 minimum in total account balances, anyone (including non-USA residents) can open an international account which refunds ATM fees immediately and provides FREE wire transfers.

My experience and opinion.
-@OceanBeach92107

My experience as UK citizen......................this statement is wrong. Up until about a year + ago this was the case & as a non USA citizen I have done the free wire transfer many times. Now even with over 25,000usd in my account I am charged 15 usd per transfer but it & ATM fee's do get refunded on the same day.

If you keep $25,000 minimum in total account balances, anyone (including non-USA residents) can open an international account which refunds ATM fees immediately and provides FREE wire transfers.

My experience and opinion.
-@OceanBeach92107

My experience as UK citizen......................this statement is wrong. Up until about a year + ago this was the case & as a non USA citizen I have done the free wire transfer many times. Now even with over 25,000usd in my account I am charged 15 usd per transfer but it & ATM fee's do get refunded on the same day.
-@goodolboy

I'm not sure if the policy has changed or if I never had the exact info, or if this is for all accounts or just domestic or only international:

Current policy:

Wire transfer fee: With $100,000 or more in Household Balances, you will receive three free online domestic wire transfers per quarter.

schwab-/legal/schwab-pricing-guide-for-individual-investors

My experience as UK citizen......................
-@goodolboy

Sorry just idle curiosity , but as a UK citizen do you know if you could take funds from a(n) HSBC UK account at a(n) HSBC VN ATM without fee?

My experience as UK citizen......................
-@goodolboy
Sorry just idle curiosity , but as a UK citizen do you know if you could take funds from a(n) HSBC UK account at a(n) HSBC VN ATM without fee?
-@THIGV

Sorry, dont know

If you keep $25,000 minimum in total account balances, anyone (including non-USA residents) can open an international account which refunds ATM fees immediately and provides FREE wire transfers.

My experience and opinion.
-@OceanBeach92107

My experience as UK citizen......................this statement is wrong. Up until about a year + ago this was the case & as a non USA citizen I have done the free wire transfer many times. Now even with over 25,000usd in my account I am charged 15 usd per transfer but it & ATM fee's do get refunded on the same day.
-@goodolboy

I'm not sure if the policy has changed or if I never had the exact info, or if this is for all accounts or just domestic or only international:

Current policy:

Wire transfer fee: With $100,000 or more in Household Balances, you will receive three free online domestic wire transfers per quarter.


schwab-/legal/schwab-pricing-guide-for-individual-investors
-@OceanBeach92107

Oh s**t just my luck, I only have 99,000usd in my Schwab account these days so that's why they are charging me.

Oh & just as a matter of interest for anyone that's interested. The 100,000 usd + does not have to be in cash, value of stock held in account counts towards the balance.

I'm not sure if the policy has changed or if I never had the exact info, or if this is for all accounts or just domestic or only international:

Current policy:

Wire transfer fee: With $100,000 or more in Household Balances, you will receive three free online domestic wire transfers per quarter.

schwab-/legal/schwab-pricing-guide-for-individual-investors
-@OceanBeach92107

Oh s**t just my luck, I only have 99,000usd in my Schwab account these days so that's why they are charging me.
Oh & just as a matter of interest for anyone that's interested. The 100,000 usd + does not have to be in cash, value of stock held in account counts towards the balance.
-@goodolboy

😁😁😁

That explains it.

Might be time to sell your TGT 🎯 and BUD 🍺...

@Stillwater71 Former US expat here. I lived in Da Nang for a couple years. The Charles Schwab investor checking account is perfect. Most ATMs accept the debit card. ALL ATM fees are refunded at the end of the month. No currency exchange fees. Withdrawals are converted at the daily exchange rate. I didn't have a Vietnamese bank account.

Thank you very much for the feedback and advice. I'll be looking into Charles Schwab. As for suggesting I google my research, I already have which serendipitously led me to this Forum, Ha! And I do feel that Forums like this one can offer a lot of knowledge and wisdom from the things former and current Expats have learned while in Vietnam.

Thank you very much for the feedback and advice. I'll be looking into Charles Schwab. As for suggesting I google my research, I already have which serendipitously led me to this Forum, Ha! And I do feel that Forums like this one can offer a lot of knowledge and wisdom from the things former and current Expats have learned while in Vietnam.
-@Stillwater71

That's if you believe everything you read on forums & a lot is just forum members copy & paste from google anyway. Remember anyone can be anything on a forum, who is checking!

Remember anyone can be anything on a forum, who is checking!
-@goodolboy

Just wear a different dress at the next meetup, k?

😉

I'd like to put in a word for HSBC.  Open a $ account while in the US and channel any funds into it.  Later, when you've established yourself in Vietnam.you can open a US dollar account as well as a VND account with them here.  Simple

How does everyone feel about Timo bank? Ive heard from several expats they prefer Timo over HSBC with its robust app and features. I still havent personally decided on a bank yet so I cant really add anything for the OP.

@jrharvey Great for use in Vietnam. Been around since 2015/16 so they're new and offer some of the best time deposit rates.

I've heard people mention app security and hacking...but not read or experienced any so. I use them happy so far. Customer service has been great.

They cannot do overseas transfers.

For that I use HSBC, it's free if you have their premier status (anywhere) doesn't have to be your home country or Vietnam. I use them. Had a few issues, but resolved, eventually.

@THIGV I think Citi has left the VN market completely. Their location in HCM is now a UOB bank, IIRC.

@ChoculaD  Sunwah Building, 115 Đ. Nguyễn Huệ, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam

Not gone just moved to smaller digs by contracting out consumer banking..  At any rate we are planning to close our account next month.  From their website:

With effect from March 01st 2023, Citibank, N.A., - Hanoi Branch and Ho Chi Minh City Branch has transferred ownership of its consumer banking business to United Overseas Bank (Vietnam) Limited (Registered number 0314922220) ("UOB Vietnam").

UOB Vietnam is the issuer of "Citi" branded consumer banking products in Vietnam and Citibank, N.A., - Hanoi Branch and Ho Chi Minh City Branch is providing certain transitional support in respect of those products.

The trademarks "Citi", "Citibank", "Citigroup", the Arc design and all similar trademarks and derivations thereof are used temporarily under license by UOB Vietnam from Citigroup Inc. and related group entities.

If you're able to open a Wells fargo account in the US. WF bank has international transfer service, I have found it's the cheapest way to send USD to VN.  They charge 8 usd to send up to 5000 usd to a bank in VN.  You have to set it up in the US . You can send the money online to yourself in VN.  Local bank pickup. ( vietcombank,  vietin bank...)

    When someone asks for a personal recommendation, it's really rude to essentially say, "Google it!"
To the US citizen OP:

Schwab is my recommendation for a USA bank.

(As I previously posted elsewhere in the forum);

...since you are a USA resident, the best solution would be to have an account with a bank that

1. rebates or refunds all of your ATM charges and

2. doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee and also

3. gives you the actual market exchange rate for US Dollars to Việt Nam đồng

4. without any additional foreign exchange fee

Before I moved to Vietnam I opened an account at Charles Schwab. It's an investor account with a checking account. An initial $100 deposit will open it without any subsequent account minimums (I often have $0.00 in the investor account after doing a wire transfer and sometimes my checking account balance drops below $100).

No monthly fees of any kind and the Visa debit card works at any ATM machine worldwide. At the end of every month, Schwab rebates all fees for withdrawals (not for other ATM uses such as balance inquiries). Also, wires cost only $15 which is better than the percentage based fees of WISE (when sending large amounts).

If you keep $25,000 minimum in total account balances, anyone (including non-USA residents) can open an international account which refunds ATM fees immediately and provides FREE wire transfers.

I recommend bringing an ATM card like that, a backup ATM card from a different bank (in case you loose yours or it gets frozen for some reason), a Visa or MasterCard that has no foreign transaction fees and no foreign exchange fees (not American Express).

Best ATM I've found to get larger withdrawals:

MB bank allows ₫5,000,000 VNĐ per withdrawal and you can withdraw up to the daily limit your bank sets (I've withdrawn ₫35,000,000 VNĐ in one visit to an ATM before, with my daily Schwab limit adjusted up from the $1,000 USD default daily limit).

CAUTION: Always be aware of time zone differences.

For example, if you withdraw the maximum daily amount from your US bank account on a Saturday and then you hope to withdraw more funds on the following Monday, be aware it's probably still Sunday at the location of your bank account, and your withdrawal request may be refused until it's Monday back home.

My experience and opinion.
   

    -@OceanBeach92107

Correction & addendum:

I confirmed via telephone call with Schwab last month that they now have only a 24 hour limit (the maximum daily withdrawal limit specific to your account).

So if you withdraw your daily limit on a Friday you can repeat that action 24 hours later on Saturday...and on Sunday and every day, always waiting at least 24 hours between maximum withdrawals to avoid your new request(s) being rejected.

ALSO, an "FYI" regarding monthly ATM withdrawal fees being rebated with the domestic USA Schwab Bank account Visa debit/ATM card***

(***Schwab INTERNATIONAL accounts provide immediate ATM fee refunds without having to wait for monthly rebates)

My monthly rebate totals vary from month to month, depending on how much cash we need (lots of major expenditures over the past year related to our marriage ceremony, Tết, travel, moving, purchasing appliances & equipping our daughters to start university studies).

Also, sometimes I prefer to make one large wire transfer from Schwab to my Agribank account or one of my wife's accounts (so ATM rebates are smaller those months).

2023 totals & average:

It's not "free money" because it's still charged against my account at the time of withdrawal.

Just worth knowing a yearly total when some people comment that certain fees are "minimal".

Fees can really add up over a year's time.

Before I ever did wire transfers ($15.00 charge) my yearly total averaged between $500 and $600 USD.

@CHRISLANGTON thanks! what about jeeping a US address or US phone number? is that an issue?  I’ve heard banks will close your US account if you do not have a US address

@mike oz47 I can confirm first hand that a lot of banks will close your account for any suspicion that your "living" in another country. I had an account closed immediately without any ability to respond after I was on a call with customer service about a check not going through and I casually mentioned that I was in Vietnam for the next few months so I couldnt remail them anything. Immediately the guy said hold on he needs to check something and came back and said sorry we cant continue the conversation. Then about 10 minutes later I get an email my account was closed and funds would be mailed to my last known address on file. I didnt raise any suspicion that I was "living" in Vietnam. For all he knew I was just visiting. I didnt even get a chance to explain anything. Another reason I dont like using my US debit card here much.

@jrharvey thanks. so is the best answer to keep an address in the US? im not comfortable moving all my funds to Vietnam.

@mike oz47

I would have to agree with you there. My personal banking solution is having 2  bank accounts back home in the US. I have a local account with Timo bank. This was the only one of the many I visited that would even consider me since I was on a VEC and didnt work here. I just transfer to my Timo account when I need money. Timo is not the best bank since there arent many ATMs but I cant have a debit card anyways. I mostly use it for bank transfer. I live in Saigon which actually has good credit card support now so I have a capital one savor one card that doesnt charge foreign fees and also gives me cash back. That always helps.

@Stillwater71

I just learned by Fidelity, Schwab, JP Morgan that Vietnam is an unapproved country. So I have to rollover my 401k from Amazon/Fidelity. You can't listen to all the responses people are saying until you get it from the horse's mouth. They all want citizens to have a physical American address. It's a Patriot Act  issue. Only 2 institutions came up allowing an option. Interactive Brokers allows a Vietnam primary address and the State Department Federal Credit Union allows a Virtual Address here in the States to solidify banking with them. The Schwab thing...if people get caught then accounts get frozen and closed and get a check in the mail. Hope this helps.

So what bank do you recommend for retired folks not working in  Vietnam

@Rosechait

Hi Rose, 

I just opened up a Chase account to get ready. However, one must ask more than one person whether on the phone and/or in person. if you look at Vietcombank, Techombank, BIDV, Timo. Just google banks and just seek reviews. I'm not wanting to transfer any funds since our own American banks are complicated enough. When I have gone twice this year they are pretty sticky about dollar bills you want to exchange. They must be pristine. They don't like any marks, dirty looking crinkled, ripped or any deformity. Crisp off the printing machine is the preference. They check Every Single Bill. No joke. Just an illustration of how they can be.

I'm trying very hard to formulate the best plan because America needs a  physical legal address ( friend or family ) they say is best. A Patriot Act rule. Virtual addresses are conflicting. To me that can turn into a unreliable if they have  unforeseen changes.  You must ask about the address so your institutions confirm what works if allowed because the term used is Un-allowed country to bank with them. Yet, I only found 1 brokerage  *** [link moderated] ***  and 1 Credit union from the US Gov *** State Department Credit Union *** . The brokerage is an application and the credit union needs to be a membership you pay for ( $600 ) one time lifetime fee instead of a yearly at $70. We save if we live long enough, but then every day is a gamble. I opened a Chase account to find out that JP Morgan won't allow because of Vietnam is labeled Un-allowed. Either way you may need 2 entities.

The websites are (  [link moderated] and [link moderated] ). They both allow a foreign address where banks don't. The address is the main clincher if I decide either way between **credit union ** or ** [link moderated] ** .  Money transfers I began a while back with Wise. Checkout Evan Eh! on Youtube. I like him a lot since he is quite forthright.

See if this helps.

Franco

On a regular basis, we get new posts with new ideas about how to handle being a US citizen with funds in the United States successfully banking in Vietnam while keeping funds in the United States.

There's simply no avoiding the requirement by US Banks to retain a DOMICILE address there (not simply a mailing address).

There are always going to be anecdotal reports that contradict that information, but those are only evidence of a banking relationship that hasn't been fully investigated yet by the financial institution.

So if a person has found a mailing forwarding service and so far everything's working out for them okay, good for them.

But the fact is, that doesn't fulfill the requirement for a domicile address, and anyone who chooses to go down that road is risking having their account closed.

Tomorrow will be my 8-year anniversary of returning to Vietnam. I'm now married to a Vietnamese citizen and living here on a 3-year spousal TRC.

Absolutely none of that matters to Charles Schwab bank, as long as I continue to maintain a domicile address in the United States.

I am able to do wire transfers here to my Agribank or ACB accounts, and I have been routinely withdrawing thousands of dollars in Việt Nam đồng at least once every month without any difficulty whatsoever, taking advantage of the rebate of ATM withdrawal fees with my Charles Schwab Visa debit card.

My banker at Charles Schwab says they consider me to be on "extended travels". I use them to direct deposit my Veterans Admin disability compensation checks and I use my free silver account at US BANK to receive my social security checks.

Unless you have a family member or friend who will allow you to continue to say that you rent at their property, you have to work out a deal with someone to use their residential address.

Of course if you continue to own residential property in the United States, you can use that.

It's also vital to keep a US phone number active for text verification purposes.

There is a way to do that with Google voice, but FIRST your mobile carrier phone number has to be used at your financial institution for registration to get alerts on that number.

Once that number is established with your bank and all of your financial accounts, you can then safely PORT your mobile carrier number to Google voice and you'll be able to receive notifications.

But all of that needs to be done before you leave the USA, since you won't be able to open a Google voice account here in Vietnam.

A FRIENDLY NOTE TO SOME NEWBIES:

Please read The forum code of conduct before you attempt to start spamming us with internet links in your very first posts here.

You can describe a company or website without having to provide a live link.

When you've only been here for one or two posts, nobody trusts your live links and they will automatically be blocked by the system