Banking

You can drawn money from ATM by your account. VCB ATM is most popular.

But look out for transaction charges when using an ATM. HSBC charge 2% the thieving mongrels

Actually, I just checked. HSBC charges 2.5% for ATM withdrawals even from their own machines. Not only that but the exchange rate that they use for foreign currency transactions via atm's is a rip off.

Hi there. 

you cannot withdraw USD directly by ATM machine but VND. If want to withdraw USD. only remit money USD from oversea to local USD account .

It;s simple to apply an VCB(Vietcombank) USD account with passport and visa. The fee will be cut 0.165% (Min 2$) if the amount arrive at local account within 10days

For my side. i use small bank in my country which allow me to withdraw local currency without fee. It;s convenient.

Wow, times are good for banks eh? I understand us$'s are popular go figure_ do I need dong or depend on ole' George? I think paypal is up to 3% now I've about stopped using them and Judy use my bank card.

Thanks very interesting, you're saying apply with my documents and I get what? And if I withdraw from my US bank it takes 10 days to post in my account? That's a problem when I need money to pay my debts.

We too moved here from the US and was trying to accomplish the same thing. It has worked out well. We opened a US CitiBank Checking account before we left for this purpose. Then when we got here, I walked into CitiBank and opened a Citibank VN checking account. When you open an account here as a non-citizen , you are actually opening 2 different accounts. One account is an international account that is in USD and the a Vietnamese "SuperAccount" in VND. We regularly do CGT(Citi Global Transfers) from our US Citi Checking to our VN International account. Then we have to transfer from the international account into the VN SuperAccount (this is when the currency exchange happens based on the rate at the time of transfer, and has always been a very fair rate)

I know that all sounds complicated, but in actuality, it is very simple and free and fast. All done through online access and can even be done through their iOS app on an iPhone or iPad or iPod Touch.

The main thing you want to confirm when opening any of the accounts is that they include the CGT(Citi Global Transfer) feature for free.

The other thing to note, is that CitiBank does have account limits both in the US and in VN so that you must maintain a certain balance in the accounts at all times, however if you do this I think all of this is completely fee free.

Time: The CGT transfers from US to VN generally happen within 30 minutes of the time I initiate the transfer.

Thirty min I can deal with 19 days not so much it sounds complex especially if one doesn't have Citi as their bank. It's crazy actually while living in Mexico I just inserted my card into bank ATM and $ wala! Then I could go to a street money exchange and get pesos, it's a good idea to have some $$ on hand until one figure this out. I could never quite get their around my head I mostly trusted them to charge me the correct price I'm hoping not to have this problem in VN ,I mean it seems if I withdraw 1k US I'm going to end up with a wheel barrel of VND?

Forgot to mention...With a Citi VN account, you can use Citi or any of the following bank's ATMs without any fees....

Agribank
ANZ
ACB
BIDV
Commonwealth
DongA
Eximbank
MBBank
MHB
Sacombank
Saigonbank
Seabank
Standard Chartered
Techcombank
VIB
Vietinbank       
Vietcombank   

From non-Citi ATMs, you can only withdraw d3,000,000 per transaction and d30,000,000 per day.

I live out on the coast and don't have physical access to. Citi b however I'll check online perhaps I can open a checking acc as a bridge to get $'s. Thanks for taking time to respond.

E52 wrote:

I live out on the coast and don't have physical access to. Citi

You can open a Citi US account by mail by ordering forms online as I did (no CITI in Hawaii) but I would advise against it.  If at all possible, open your account on a walk in basis.  The problem is that if you open by mail you have no branch and hence no branch manager to help you out when things go off.  This happened to me when I wanted to add my wife to the US account after we arrived in the US.  Only after several months did I find a branch that would help me.  There are plenty of branches in NC even if they are not in your town.  Here is their locator page:  https://online.citi.com/US/GCL/citiloca … 5d4a4db08c

If you are already in VN and want to open by mail, I would studiously avoid letting them know that you are not in the US.  This is why it is essential to maintain a US address even if you plan to reside in VN for a long while.  In fact US residency may be a legal requirement to open the account.  Fill out the forms, FEDEX or UPS them to a friend or relative in the US and have them mail them with a US postmark. 

You can avoid the US balance requirements mentioned by ejmom25 by having direct deposit.  If you have a pension check that should work.   There is a balance based fee with CITI VN but it is only 165,000VND ($7.25.)  I forgot the balance that eliminates the VN fee as we seem to be above it with our latest statement.  ejmom25 is also correct about the 30 minute time but I think the website says 24 hours or something similar just to cover themselves from complaints if things don't work right away. 

One other thing:  I only did it once but CGT allows you to transfer directly from the US bank to your VND account.  Although it seems easier, I would advise against doing so as, for some strange reason, the exchange rates are worse than moving to the USD account then doing the exchange to VND once the money is in Vietnam.

There may be a few hangups but by and large CITI seems to be the best solution for US citizens who wish to move money to Vietnam on a regular basis.

Firstly thank you very much for taking time to explain the Citi banking process so thoroughly. It is my understanding $US are preferred when possible, please correct me if this isn't the case - I simply prefer using $ vs VND. The exchange rates are so astronomical it seems from the untrained eye I would end up a huge pile of VND having little clue what the hell im doing.
Whatever I need to do to remedy the situation is optimum so when I insert my card into an ATM $'s appear. Of course I will retain some Dong for market purchases etc.
your expert analysis clears some of the uncertainty however the entire process seems overly complex. I will locate a citi branch and have the process explained to me personally so I may ask the questions necessary to obtain a viable salutation.
It's most urgent I understand the process while I'm still stateside as I could be in country up to a year .
Many thanks friend your effort has yielded  vast information and insights.

E52 wrote:

It is my understanding $US are preferred when possible, please correct me if this isn't the case - I simply prefer using $ vs VND. The exchange rates are so astronomical it seems from the untrained eye I would end up a huge pile of VND having little clue what the hell im doing.

VND are all you will need for daily life.  You will need to pay your rent and utility bills in VND as well.  You don't need a wheelbarrow because the bills are in thousands and hundreds of thousands of VND.  The fact that the bills are size and color coded helps too.

Don't expect to be carrying out everyday transactions in US currency.   For all intents and purposes, the only US denomination in VN, with the exception of some "good luck" $2 bills, is $100 bills.  They are in VN mostly because Viet Kieu use them to bring cash into and out of the country particularly related to real estate purchases but also as gifts.  They also may be held by some as a hedge against inflation of VND and for purchasing gold.  In fact, you may find that denominations other than $100 will not be accepted except perhaps at a big discount by banks.  Also banks and gold shops will only accept $100 bills without marks or tears which certainly limits their usefulness.

Well that makes sense, so let me see if I got this, I use my bank card to withdraw $ here and get VND there or do I go to a currency exchange / bank etc and exchange ?  Many people say many different things, you however explain the process more clearly. I'll meet with my bank tomorrow and ask them what if anything they can do  to avoid having to totally begin with a bank I don't do business with , changing banks is a big pain  you know where.
I'm good with local currency now I don't have a wheelbarrow, living in Mexico I exchanged for pesos which were totally confusing and disorganized hope to avoid that this trip. If I may my bank indicated I would be able to use ATM there to access my account here and withdraw, when I do so will I receive VND at the ATM in Vietnam? Thanks you've been a great help cleaning the confusion!

Perhaps something should have been clarified from the beginning of this discussion.  In your first post you said:

E52 wrote:

... can I go to a bank and withdraw $ from my stateside account monthly,....

Monthly implies an intention to stay for an extended period and not just a vacation.  Your last post

E52 wrote:

I use my bank card to withdraw $ here and get VND there or do I go to a currency exchange / bank etc and exchange ?

seems to imply that you only need enough money for a short trip.   What people have said here seems to be based on the first premise.

If the short term stay is your intention, you may legally carry up to $5000 into the country and exchange it to VND after arriveal.  I think you would be hard pressed to find a bank outside of perhaps NY City or LA that carries VND.

Correct, my plan is to try it for a few months to determine if it's possible for me to remain  long term. I would access at the ending of each month say for two or three months then I should know if I wish to commit long term or up to one year and see where I am in my readjustment.
I understand the 5k rule however if I remain over 3-4 months I'll need to transfer $ into by to exchange for VND and repeat a few months after until I may determine if I wish to remain full time.
Please understand I'm attempting to return to a country I left behind 50 years past. I think and hope this will reveal my reason and bring some closure. I'm not like then and I need to understand what I'm up against as the monetary system is concerned.
I'm not s young backpacker so I have to do a thorough recon before commenting long term.
I'm sure there's a way around the cash transfer issue, just need to find it .
Thank you so much for hanging in with me!

I would go to the nearest CITI, open the account.  Skip the direct deposit and suffer the fees for a few months until you are sure you are staying and if then you can do the direct deposit(s) online.  If you decide to stay in VN, you can take the trip to HCMC and open the CITI VN account.  If you return to the US, you can close the CITI US account quite easily.

If your closure involves a lost love, good luck.  I met a former pilot in his 80's who did that but never found her.  He did find a young lady who took care of him.  The nature of the relationship was well understood by both parties but probably did not include nights of unbridled passion.   

If you want to make amends to someone you feel you may have harmed, I think you will find that the people of Vietnam have put the war well behind them.  That is most but not all.  My wife's family was solidly VC during the war but when a neighbor told my mother-in-law that she should not let her daughter marry an American, she told them to mind their own business.   She also never asks for money.  I have to tell my wife to give her.  A wise person once told me that before you choose a wife,  get to know her mother.   

Also remember that the Tom Wolfe adage of "You can't go home again" applies here.   The Nha Trang you may have know in the 60's no longer exists but is still a very attractive place for many reasons.  Your stated interest in watercolor painting will be well satisfied there.