Savings Stuck in Vietnamese Bank

Do you have a debit card? If so open a free account on  transferwise, use you debit card add funds to your new account, then pay yourself using  trsnsferwise.. simple

Yes. I have  a debit card. But Im pretty sure they wont release funds without a registered phone number so they can call to check its me. Have you done it ? Vietcombank.

I did once pay for something in Amsterdam duty free with it without any problems . But that was only $20. I doubt I could transfer $1000s to transferwise.( fee is 4% but I would take it if I could)

I used it all the time and never had phone call. TransferWise works just like a debit card payment.. it's free so worth a go

TransferWise now goes under the banner of 'Wise'.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

I used it all the time and never had phone call. TransferWise works just like a debit card payment.. it's free so worth a go

You have transferred VND out of Vietnam using Transferwise? really?

That great to hear. Thank you!

I have used transferwise in the past to transfer out of Cambodia. They are excellent and much much cheaper than doing a bank transfer. But they would not transfer out of Vietnam. But with a direct debit with debit card it may be possible.

mikedylan2001 wrote:

Yes. I have  a debit card. But Im pretty sure they wont release funds without a registered phone number so they can call to check its me. Have you done it ? Vietcombank.

Mikedylan, I have a debit card with Sacombank & it works in any country ATM & I have used it in Thailand. OK its expensive & have a daily limit but still works. As for online banking with the app are you sure you would be able to do an online transfer overseas anyways?

" I have a debit card with Sacombank ; it works in any country ATM & I have used it in Thailand. OK its expensive"
Interesting....Is that a flat 4% for cash?

goodolboy wrote:

mikedylan2001 wrote:

Yes. I have  a debit card. But Im pretty sure they wont release funds without a registered phone number so they can call to check its me. Have you done it ? Vietcombank.

Mikedylan, I have a debit card with Sacombank & it works in any country ATM & I have used it in Thailand. OK its expensive & have a daily limit but still works. As for online banking with the app are you sure you would be able to do an online transfer overseas anyways?

What is the daily limit for Sacombank as I reckon most banks will be about that same?

mikedylan2001 wrote:

goodolboy wrote:

mikedylan2001 wrote:

Yes. I have  a debit card. But Im pretty sure they wont release funds without a registered phone number so they can call to check its me. Have you done it ? Vietcombank.

Mikedylan, I have a debit card with Sacombank & it works in any country ATM & I have used it in Thailand. OK its expensive & have a daily limit but still works. As for online banking with the app are you sure you would be able to do an online transfer overseas anyways?

What is the daily limit for Sacombank as I reckon most banks will be about that same?

Funny you should ask that Mike cos I checked.......................30,000,000 vnd equivalent in a day.

When withdraw money at ATM Foreign Bank, you can refer some fees below:
- ATM/POS cash withdrawal: 4% of transaction amount (minimum VND 60,000).
- Foreign currency transaction fee: 3% of transaction amount.
- Foreign transaction processing fee - cross border fee (Applied for payment transactions, online shopping and cash withdrawal - effective from February 4, 2019): 0.8% / transaction (minimum VND 2,000)
- Surcharge fee which is issued by ATM Bank management.

When withdraw money at ATM Foreign Bank, you can refer some fees below:
- ATM/POS cash withdrawal: 4% of transaction amount (minimum VND 60,000).
- Foreign currency transaction fee: 3% of transaction amount.
- Foreign transaction processing fee - cross border fee (Applied for payment transactions, online shopping and cash withdrawal - effective from February 4, 2019): 0.8% / transaction (minimum VND 2,000)
- Surcharge fee which is issued by ATM Bank management.

Hope that helps

That's great thanks. I would guess that the bank who owns the ATM will stick a hefty charge on top as well. 4 %  + 3 %  +0.8%  + surcharge fee which is issued by ATM Bank management.
I guess overall it would be about 10%

mikedylan2001 wrote:

That's great thanks. I would guess that the bank who owns the ATM will stick a hefty charge on top as well. 4 %    3 %   0.8%    surcharge fee which is issued by ATM Bank management.
I guess overall it would be about 10%

well if you are talking about a lot of cash then 10% would certainly be a big hit right enough but its a call you gotta make. I always say ....you just never know whats round the corner in life & who knows you might have something bad happen & you or your dependants not be able to get the money out even at an ATM!  below is the second bit from my bank that I meant to send you instead of doubling up on the costs..........its an age thing honnest!

Dear Value Customer,

We would like to say thank you for using Sacombank's product and service.

The withdrawal limits of Sacombank's visa debit card are:

Abroad: maximum of 30 million per day.

Within Vietnam:
- 10 million per transaction at Sacombank's ATM.
- 100 million per day.
- 10 times per day.

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Do you have a debit card? If so open a free account on  transferwise, use you debit card add funds to your new account, then pay yourself using  trsnsferwise.. simple

Hello Everyone,

I've had WISE too, for years now.

As it happens I am in a similar situation- I'm still in Vietnam but would like to send out some of my VND hard earned savings.

I just triple checked my WISE account and unless I'm doing something wrong:
•    YES: one can receive VND but not send VNDs.
•    YES: One can also add Vietnamese banks as funds “recipients” but NOT as “senders”
•    NO: zero cards whatsoever (debit nor credit) available in Vietnam yet.

So.....what exactly am I doing wrong?
Cheers

katkann wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Do you have a debit card? If so open a free account on  transferwise, use you debit card add funds to your new account, then pay yourself using  trsnsferwise.. simple

Hello Everyone,

I've had WISE too, for years now.

As it happens I am in a similar situation- I'm still in Vietnam but would like to send out some of my VND hard earned savings.

I just triple checked my WISE account and unless I'm doing something wrong:
•    YES: one can receive VND but not send VNDs.
•    YES: One can also add Vietnamese banks as funds “recipients” but NOT as “senders”
•    NO: zero cards whatsoever (debit nor credit) available in Vietnam yet.

So.....what exactly am I doing wrong?
Cheers

Expecting the rules to be different?

I'm just saying you are relating what is related here on this forum quite regularly.

In order to send money out of Vietnam, a lot of documentation is required, and in that documentation you must be able to prove that the funds are legally qualified for that transfer.

In the end it seems to be up to the bank to make the final decision based on individual circumstances in accordance with Vietnamese banking regulations.

But no one knows of a third-party service or app that can do this.

If it's possible, it must be done through your bank.

in my discussions with TW, i eventually discovered that they were pretty useless to me here (in VN) ... basically for teh reasons above.

ie they talk a good story until you read the fine print about their actual service limitations (which is totally relevant to the point below)

i also had a heated discussion with them about how they forced you to create an account BEFORE you could actually ask them any questions or do any 'due diligence'

(i think i eventually found some hidden email address i could use to make enquiries and castigate them - their response about having to create an account BEFORE you can actually make any enquiries was totally arrogant and what's the word? ... wilfully stubborn will hv to do.)

PS @katkann if the money is your "hard earned savings", then you should be able to take that documentation to the bank to be able to approve transfer out.

i gather the main reason for all this is to verify legitimate earning source eg work permits and to stop 'black money' being transferred out (although demonstratably it doesn't seem to stop certain groups of people with access and influence).

CB could probably comment more fully .. but she may not want to here.

(when i first came here and my ex-wife gave me back (some of) my money (in VN) as part of family loan repayment and property sale, i was wandering around with 500mill cash and i could not get banks to open an account to deposit it. even though i had property sale papers.)

katkann wrote:

Jlgarbutt wrote:

Do you have a debit card? If so open a free account on  transferwise, use you debit card add funds to your new account, then pay yourself using  trsnsferwise.. simple

Hello Everyone,

I've had WISE too, for years now.

As it happens I am in a similar situation- I'm still in Vietnam but would like to send out some of my VND hard earned savings.

I just triple checked my WISE account and unless I'm doing something wrong:
•    YES: one can receive VND but not send VNDs.
•    YES: One can also add Vietnamese banks as funds “recipients” but NOT as “senders”
•    NO: zero cards whatsoever (debit nor credit) available in Vietnam yet.

So.....what exactly am I doing wrong?
Cheers

If your hard earned savings are held with a Vietnamese bank & can be traced to legally gained investments or salary for instance you will have little or no problems sending money overseas. If the money is not fully traceable to say for example monthly salary payments into your account then you have a problem.
If your money is fully documented at your Vietnamese Bank all you have to do is set up an account with an international bank or a Vietnamese bank approved for International transfers  (providing that is you have all necessary Visa etc) & send the money from your Vietnamese bank to your International bank & transfer the money out.
If it was as easy as using Transferwise to send money out of Vietnam we would all be at it I suspect.

I've always found that I can use transferwise from AUD - VND but not the other way.
If anybody knows a very cost efficient way of transferring money from VN to Aus, I'm all ears.