Can't deposit cash into my account?

I think you can still deposit your own Money  in Vietnam, no matter where you earn or bring this money  and bank never ask you any question  while you deposit,  I am using  HSBC  bank  and my daily limit for  deposit 200 Million VND.  and main while  i can withdrew  up to 7500$ daily.

I am glad that you THINK that you can put cash into your Vietnamese bank account. I also used to THINK that I could do this but sadly thinking did NOT equate to actually doing!

I put money into my account all the time, but I can't put money into another expats account. There is a difference.

jpbsimpson wrote:

I am glad that you THINK that you can put cash into your Vietnamese bank account. I also used to THINK that I could do this but sadly thinking did NOT equate to actually doing!

THINKING IS DIFFERENT THEN DOING, OF COURSE. SO YOU SHOULD DO IT AND  WILL KNOW.

Coll-wing,

you say
THINKING IS DIFFERENT THEN DOING, OF COURSE. SO YOU SHOULD DO IT AND  WILL KNOW.

Believe me my friend I have tried and tried and tried again and i am STILL trying.

jpbsimpson wrote:

Coll-wing,

you say
THINKING IS DIFFERENT THEN DOING, OF COURSE. SO YOU SHOULD DO IT AND  WILL KNOW.

Believe me my friend I have tried and tried and tried again and i am STILL trying.

Ok, do like this way,

Go to HSBC  and you need to prefer  the documents Latter from Police( ask hotel or house owner to prefers for you) Your country address  maybe Driving Licence  or any other documents  which you can prove your address. You should  meet  any customer  offer's but its better always  try to meet manager or Senior officer. if you have those  documents  then wont be problem friend.

Coll-wing,

I already have a registered house address in Vietnam, I am married to a Vietnamese, worked in Vietnam with a valid work permit for many years etc. etc. etc. and am still restricted to having money put into my bank accounts in VND US$ or GBP ONLY from work (no longer possible as I no longer work in Vietnam) or by bank transfer from overseas. I can change money to a VND account from accounts that have money from overseas BUT I CANNOT DEPOSIT CASH!

Even if I take money in overeas currency to go on holiday and don't use all of it on holiday I cannot put the unused money into my bank account - period! 

Sorru to dispute what you say BUT this is a statement of facts from a great deal of trying.  I truly hope that you are not faced with this problem in your dealings with your bank BUT understand in Vietnam rarely does one solution fit all (or one problem be faced by all!)

To be clear on my situ: no, I do not have an employer.  I might work, might not.  Checking the place out.  No return ticket.  So having banking makes sense for me. I am not looking for stop gap solutions like a prepaid card.  I was able to open the account.  The big issue is that you can have the account to take money out, but there is no way to get the money you brought with you in.  When I ask "how can I make withdrawal if I have not been able to deposit money" I get blank stares.

There are different Bank accounts, ... the two that I know in Vietnam;

- Personal Bank Account ( is what i call it) and
- Debit Account,

Personal Bank account is just to get your salary or sometimes you can get deposits but from another source  a bank 2 bank transaction,

Debit Card account you can make deposits in Vietnam dong or anyone can transfer  currency from anywhere in the world, then you can withdraw from ATM or pay any purchase.   

the difference is the debit card has a long number like a credit card

i hope i explained it correctly

Sacombank doesn't allow u to deposit dong either unless you have a payslip saying where u earned the money. Five minutes on Photoshop solved that problem for me.

for real?

I was at Sacombank and they told me I could no longer deposit cash into my account. I've been depositing cash into my account for the past 2 years!!! I just put in money last week!! Apparently I can only put cash into a savings account or have money transferred to me. Can anyone recommend a bank that allows cash deposits?

First let me say that there is nothing consistent about banking in VN.  So just because one this the next day can be different with no explanation.

I have friend who just opened a sacombank account and deposited cash but he is a foreigner with a legal resident card with work permit also.

Non-residents and no work permit aka Tourist visas cannot in my limited experience.  Doesn't mean someone isn't doing it somewhere.

The vn system is about extracting BY ANY MEANS as much money from foreigners as  possible.  They don't want you to hang on to any.

IMHO but also a fact confirmed by many foreigners in VN.

I was thinking about opening up a bank account but with all the trouble people are having I think I will just keep doing what I'm doing drawing from my US bank, cost a little bit but no hassle

All my current money is in VND...if I need Dollars, I go to the street.

Zep--

You only need look at the past repeating itself to know
the house built of cards is about to collapse; not if,
only when.  If the GFC, Greece, Cyprus, India's examples
are not enough to convince you..? 

..you become the victim of your own intellect...     

RCrash wrote:

To be clear on my situ: no, I do not have an employer.  I might work, might not.  Checking the place out.  No return ticket.  So having banking makes sense for me. I am not looking for stop gap solutions like a prepaid card.  I was able to open the account.  The big issue is that you can have the account to take money out, but there is no way to get the money you brought with you in.  When I ask "how can I make withdrawal if I have not been able to deposit money" I get blank stares.

hahaha 'how can i make withdrawal if I have not been able to deposit money" I get blank stares.' my exact same thoughts too. And how exactly are the banks earning money if they are not willing to take in deposits for their own banking investments/ lending?

May I know how are the salaries being paid then? In cash?

Well that certainly explains why there are a million stores just selling safes and secure boxes.
Maybe it's only the foreigners who think the system is weird?
Oh wait, half my friends in various European countries have the same vaults or safes.

Just sayiing

In some smaller cities and towns they allow foreigners to deposit cash without questions, an Example :

in Da Nang city you used to be able to deposit money easily, i did it for the whole of last year, but as of late they now require proof of source of money, so i just gave them a labor contract and all was well again.

However, in Hue which is the next city and quite a bit smaller you can still deposit money no questions asked.

Also, it really all depends on the day and the mood the teller is in, sometimes you can bullsh!t your way around questions, sometimes not, sometimes they will simply just take the money sometimes not... Vietnam is not a place of any consistency on ANYTHING really. Everything here changes on a daily basis...

Lucky for me i am on a business Visa, so I have a full labour contract, HOWEVER, You don't need to be on a work permit to get a contract from a school, you have a labor contract and then you get what they call an "agreement", the agreement will also work at the bank as long as they specify in the agreement you get xx amount of money per hour. it must specify the value per hour. As long as the source of your income is specified the bank should accept it.

Great new info Ray.  I think your points make sense. I was wondering if I should have tried smaller towns.  Clearly the rules are in transition.

you are welcome, many of the big cities are surrounded by little towns within a 20 to 30 minutes drive, just find one that has a bank ( most do ) and do your deposits there. 20 minutes on a bike is less headache than dealing with the city banks... Hell, id even drive an hour to a bank that would help me if it means bypassing the headaches of dealing with these people.

If the towns have different banks to yours, then just open an account with them ( standard non visa card ), do your deposits, then transfer the cash via EFT to your preferred Vietnamese bank.

Now that is a good idea too! Use a smaller bank to dump the cash in, and then transfer to core bank account (which I know is easy). I think my issues are now behind me but I will look into this one too.  Thanks again.

jpbsimpson wrote:

Coll-wing,

If you try to deposit as foreign currency in Vietnam to your any account then that will be impossible.  Because in Vietnam you only can deposit VND.  Yes I did not get any issues like that you faced, because I did not tried to deposit as a foreign currency in Vietnam.

I already have a registered house address in Vietnam, I am married to a Vietnamese, worked in Vietnam with a valid work permit for many years etc. etc. etc. and am still restricted to having money put into my bank accounts in VND US$ or GBP ONLY from work (no longer possible as I no longer work in Vietnam) or by bank transfer from overseas. I can change money to a VND account from accounts that have money from overseas BUT I CANNOT DEPOSIT CASH!

Even if I take money in overeas currency to go on holiday and don't use all of it on holiday I cannot put the unused money into my bank account - period! 

Sorru to dispute what you say BUT this is a statement of facts from a great deal of trying.  I truly hope that you are not faced with this problem in your dealings with your bank BUT understand in Vietnam rarely does one solution fit all (or one problem be faced by all!)

I just opened a Vietcombank account today and was also told that as a foreigner I could not deposit money on the account without specifying the source, which I was expecting.

I asked the teller if I could transfer money from my home country bank account into my Vietnamese account. She "seemed" to say "no", that I could only transfer money from my Vietnamese account to another Vietnamese account.  I also asked her how the hell I'm supposed to make a transfer to pay the rent if there's nothing on my account...

I'm on a tourist visa, I don't want to deposit cash, I want to transfer money from PayPal. I work online and that's how my clients pay me. Do you have any idea of how I could transfer my PayPal money onto my Vietcombank account? I tried to find this info on PayPal's website, but apparently, I'm only allowed to connect an account in a few countries in Europe! This is highly inconvenient. I could make a transfer from PayPal to my home country bank account and then to my Vietcombank account I guess, only if I'm allowed to do so? I don't have a "contract", I'm a freelance...

Have you tried transferring money into your Vietnamese account? Have you managed withdrawing money from PayPal onto your Vietnamese account as a foreigner?

Thanks in advance!

If you have a VN person you trust, ask if they can deposit and transfer to you.
What if you open a paypal acc in VN and transfer the money between the paypal accounts? Worked before in another asian country for me.

Only been here two months, I don't have a person I trust yet..
I'll try opening the Vietnamese PayPal, I thought it was only for Vietnamese people, as every time I try going on their website, it redirects to European PayPal. I'll try again. Thanks for the tip!

If any one has another idea or experience, please share

The one thing worse than Vnmse bankers is.... Paypal!  Congratulations. You managed to land with a snake in each hand and a Wile E Coyote-style time bomb with the short fuse already lit strapped to your back. 

Kidding aside, here is what I know:
1. You do not want to use paypal.  Even if you manage it, the conversion fees to VND will make you very unhappy! 
2. However, Paypal is in fact possible.  BUT- they will only deposit into VND account in 'Nam (local currency "rule" which they use as excuse to rape you on the exchange rate). The way to do it is open account using your address in 'Nam and in US$. Get the cash in there however you like, then withdraw to your VND account.  The bank will allow this (I did it anyway).

Having now been at this for 9 months, I have found a few good solutions.  My favorite is a US-based service that avoids all the currency crap and will get the money quickly into your 'Nam bank account.  I don't want to appear promotional here so I won't name the company.  If anyone needs it, just direct message me here at Expat or mail me at robcrash at* gmail dot com.

Good luck and enjoy banking, circa-1952.  Wait till you see their Monty Python mad stamping sequence whenever you are actually successful making a withdrawal.  It is worth the price of admission, trust me.  Super hilarious.  Bring popcorn.

Your client -> paypal -> transfer to your home country bank that is linked to paypal -> ATM -> cash

or
Your client -> wire deposit to your home country bank -> ATM -> cash

Everyplace I have lived in Vietnam, all transactions, especially big ones, are cash. That is why my ATM cards are so valuable. And I have no need for a Vietnamese bank account.  (I have 2 home banks in case a card breaks or expires)

RCrash wrote:

The one thing worse than Vnmse bankers is.... Paypal!  Congratulations. You managed to land with a snake in each hand and a Wile E Coyote-style time bomb with the short fuse already lit strapped to your back. 

Kidding aside, here is what I know:
1. You do not want to use paypal.  Even if you manage it, the conversion fees to VND will make you very unhappy! 
2. However, Paypal is in fact possible.  BUT- they will only deposit into VND account in 'Nam (local currency "rule" which they use as excuse to rape you on the exchange rate). The way to do it is open account using your address in 'Nam and in US$. Get the cash in there however you like, then withdraw to your VND account.  The bank will allow this (I did it anyway).

Having now been at this for 9 months, I have found a few good solutions.  My favorite is a US-based service that avoids all the currency crap and will get the money quickly into your 'Nam bank account.  I don't want to appear promotional here so I won't name the company.  If anyone needs it, just direct message me here at Expat or mail me at robcrash at* gmail dot com.

Good luck and enjoy banking, circa-1952.  Wait till you see their Monty Python mad stamping sequence whenever you are actually successful making a withdrawal.  It is worth the price of admission, trust me.  Super hilarious.  Bring popcorn.

Agree, PayPal is a disgrace, they say they cant allow USD into Viet Nam due to the government, complete lie. They offer exchange rates at about 4% lower than the going bank rate.

I had to battle with PayPal for two months to reverse the name on my account, they took it upon themselves to reverse my name the way its done in Viet Nam. They then tried to blame me for their error, shit company, hate them.

Yes this will all work but the issues are cost, cost, cost.  It is expensive to wire, and there are usually huge fees at your home bank (US$5 etc) using foreign ATM cards in 'Nam.  So if you are staying I still recommend local bank account, even with all the issues.

I don't know why you guys have issues with Banks. The rules are clear :

Foreigners can deposit money as long as evidence of where the money came from is presented. Therefore you simply provide the receipt from the school and they will accept the money. The same goes if you sell anything here, write an invoice, both parties sign and show it to the bank. An invoice book is dirt cheap and will make the whole transaction look authentic. They'll just give it a look over and accept it.

Paypal works with minimal issues, i have been using paypal for 2 years now in Vietnam. What you need to do is open a vietnamese paypal account at : https://www.paypal.com/vn  and then link that account to your Vietnamese bank account. You can then easily transfer money from your regular paypal to vietnam paypal and then withdraw to bank. I have done this at least a few hundred times with almost no issues... O and BTW, My vietnamese paypal is in USD and my Bank account is in VND and Ive never had issues withdrawing to bank...

I have found BIDV bank to be the one that is mostly foreigner friendly, they also have internet banking in English and its quite easy to get a mastercard from them that works outside the country with minimal effort 

If you are transferring usd to your VN Paypal it has to be done in VND, thats the problem.

both my paypal accounts are setup as USD ( even my vietnam paypal is setup usd ). My bank is setup VND... and i have never had issues transferring or withdrawing. when you withdraw it will auto convert to vnd, no need to be VND inside paypal.

I have a feeling you are missing the point. Paypal outside of Viet Nam does not transfer funds into Viet Nam in usd. I have emails from them confirming this.

Are you using your Paypal here to do business or transferring funds.

I have an external paypal setup in usd. Then i have a second paypal setup here, also USD. ( Vietnam paypal ). Then i linked my vietnam paypal to my vietnam bank account. after that i just transfer from my western paypal to my vietnam paypal, and then withdraw to bank. whole process takes seconds to do and once withdrawn it shows in my bank account in about 3 working days. As i said, i have done this MANY MANY times, i have been here 2 years ...

raymerjacque wrote:

I have an external paypal setup in usd. Then i have a second paypal setup here, also USD. ( Vietnam paypal ). Then i linked my vietnam paypal to my vietnam bank account. after that i just transfer from my western paypal to my vietnam paypal, and then withdraw to bank. whole process takes seconds to do and once withdrawn it shows in my bank account in about 3 working days. As i said, i have done this MANY MANY times, i have been here 2 years ...

Ok, so Paypal Vietnam accepts USD and will transfer USD to my account here. I will check that out.

So when you transfer from your external Paypal to Vn, what do you put in the bank details section or do you have to serup a special Paypal to Paypal account.

That link you gave is a business account, thats different to a personal account, maybe thats why you are able to receive in USD.

I have spoken to paypal on the phone. They will not deposit USD into a USD account in Vietnam.  Against the law, they say.  If anyone is successful doing so, please let me know.