International transfer of money

Many banks can do it as long as you have your the correct paperwork.

Enquire about fees and exchange rate. I looked in to this a while ago by visiting vietcombank and hsbc bank. I believe both banks had three options for fees

a) you pay a fixed fee upfront at time of transfer
b) share the fee between you and receiver (in this case it's you)
c) choose receiver to pay  the full fee (again this is you)

I believe with b) and c) you'd be none the wiser how much the fee will be until the money is received at the other end. You could check or ask your bank in SA how much they charge to receive money. However, if the transfer happen to go through intermediary banks they may also charge. That's how come I say you'd be unaware unless you know for certain that the transfer is always direct between the Vietnamese bank and SA bank.

Edit: there should be some threads on this already. The search feature (magnifying glass at top right) is your friend).

HSBC does these transfers. Their customer service is awful, however -- that's my experience. Awful compared to what? Maybe better than all the alternatives!

My experience is that they don't help you. If you don't know what questions to ask, they're not going to prompt you. They don't anticipate what obstacles you're likely to encounter, even though they're in the business and probably know what they are. They wait for your process to fail, then tell you what paperwork you failed to complete!

When I lived in HCMC I sent almost monthly amounts to the USA and a non-HSBC bank. Fees were not negligible, not outrageous price gouging, either.

I've heard, but not tried or researched, that if you have an HSBC account in your home country that it is easier to send money both directions as needed. Whether HSBC has operations in SA is likely easy to discover: Google is your friend.

I had another friend (astonishing, I know) who was running a business in Vietnam making items for export. She said that HSBC was the only choice she had for the kinds of transfers (to the USA and from USA to other countries including Vietnam) that she needed to do. Her take on HSBC's customer service?
They just don't care."

Has anyone used a service like moneygram or Western Union to send money?

I read on another forum that vietcombank, sacombank and saigon bank are moneygram agents. Pretty sure I've also seen the western union sign in some banks.

Maybe these services are for urgent transfers so works out more expensive? Or does it depend on the amount sent. i.e. for larger transfer, bank works out cheaper?

Lennerd wrote:

I've heard, but not tried or researched, that if you have an HSBC account in your home country that it is easier to send money both directions as needed. Whether HSBC has operations in SA is likely easy to discover: Google is your friend.

Bank staff member in da Nang branch told me transfer between my vietnam hsbc account (if I were to open account) and uk hsbc account (already opened) can be done using hsbc Internet banking.

When I moved to Saigon, visited the hsbc saigon branch to open an account. Customer service was abysmal. So I took my custom elsewhere.

And yes. I also used HSBC's "internet banking." It was extremely clunky and the people in the branches where I went for assistance just couldn't be bothered to lift a finger.

I totally understand why people "take their custom" elsewhere!

Looks like Greek banking sector has fierce competition, but they own class in *** service, where opening bank account for foreigner takes days or weeks.

I am interested in this as I have tried many of the options. Moneygram (expensive) Western Union (absolute nightmare if they decide to block you for some unknown security reason). Call centre staff have no training in providing support - that is not their fault. But thats my winge.

Does anybody know of a positive experence and could be workable to move money Hanoi - Australia... I use Hi Ha in australia but it is only good for pocket money not serious house purchase money. Thanks in advance.

It's pretty easy to send money INTO Vietnam.

It's impossible to send money OUT of Vietnam through the legal banking options unless you can prove the legal source of the funds to the satisfaction of the bank in Vietnam.

To explore other options that are illegal under the money laundering restrictions currently in place, it would be best to speak with trustworthy Vietnamese friends and ask how they would do it.

Hopefully they will be able to help you...

Definitely what OB says. My cautionary tale with this. I wired transferred $6000 from a US bank to The Vietnam Military Bank so I could finalize setting up an LLC in Vietnam in 2021. This was so easy! I used Xoom to do the transfer from my US bank. Then the LLC failed for a variety of reasons and the bank would not transfer the funds to my american expat friends Agribank account. Their solution? Here's the cash. They gave me $6000 USD in VND in cash. My friends Vietnamese wife and I went to her bank in Hanoi and deposited it and then my friend wire transferred the money for me from an account he had in the US. I don't quite know what I would have done if not for doing the cash deposit in her account and then having my friend wire transfer the same amount from his US bank account to mine.

Perhaps your milage may vary. Mine did not.

    I am interested in this as I have tried many of the options. Moneygram (expensive) Western Union (absolute nightmare if they decide to block you for some unknown security reason). Call centre staff have no training in providing support - that is not their fault. But thats my winge.
Does anybody know of a positive experence and could be workable to move money Hanoi - Australia... I use Hi Ha in australia but it is only good for pocket money not serious house purchase money. Thanks in advance.
        -@duggin

Listen to OB's advice.

Western Union in Vietnam is unable to send money, anywhere, even within Vietnam. They can receive from anywhere worldwide.

My friends Vietnamese wife and I went to her bank in Hanoi and deposited it and then my friend wire transferred the money for me from an account he had in the US.

Ha! That is how the Vietnamese shops in California do currency transfers, family members in both countries. Banks? - who need banks?!