Job Discussion Forums

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

It looks like I'm going to have an unexpected emergency in a few weeks and will need to leave.

I have a Vietcombank Mastercard but I've been told by others that I wouldn't be able to withdraw from ATM's in the US so I have to risk losing anything after the coming payday I suppose.

Are there any workarounds on this that you can think of?

Can something be set up with the bank for automatic transfer etc? I specifically asked for a card that would work overseas but the person who set up my account didn't speak very good English.....

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

The Vietcombank mastercard does work from ATM machines abroad but you have to complete a document for that, same thing if you want to buy things from the internet, another document is required. But I have the same card and have used it abroad but lots of fees-beware.

Another thing you can do is to complete the international transfer document prior to leaving Vietnam with the date based on when the money will be in your account, you will also need the exact amount to be transferred. It's best to transfer everything but a small amount so you won't have to deal with closing your account, more paperwork.

The last thing you can do is try to find an honest Vietnamese and ........, oh forget that, best to do it yourself.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

cb400 · Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Posts: 274 Location: Vientiane, Laos

I am pretty sure my techcom and ANZ (arsehooles) cards work in Thailand and Canada. Might be worth switching to another account if you cannot transfer.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

bobpen · Joined: 04 Mar 2011 Posts: 89

This is a good thread and a good question.

Anyone with direct experience on this as of late? I'll possibly be going back to the US (California) some time this year. Recently stopped in to my VN bank and inquired but as always they suddenly don't speak such great English when it's important. What I gathered is if I leave money in my VN account and try to withdraw at an ATM in the US, there will be roughly a 3% charge on the Vietnam end (2.6% fee, plus a variable exchange fee of as much as 1% = ~ 3% or more). I assume there will also be a full ATM charge over on the US bank end, but I don't know how much. Say a $1 per transaction usage fee on their end? I really don't know, probably more. That would mean you're paying about / at least $3.5 to $4 for every $100 withdrawal -- not terrible if you're just on a vacation, not so attractive if you're moving back for the long term.

I also wonder if there isn't any gov't regulations on how much / how many transactions a person could make.

TRH · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 340 Location: Hawaii

Does anyone have experience with simply going into the bank in the US or elsewhere and making the draft that way? We tend to get locked into the idea of using the machine. I don't know about fees but it should be the way around the six digit problem.

bobpen · Joined: 04 Mar 2011 Posts: 89

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

I have a lot of experience using debit credit cards from Vietnam in the States. I have never had a problem using the six digit pin code in an ATM machine there. However, I have heard of others who have had problems with some ATM machines but were able to use a different ATM machine, don't know the details. I have also withdrawn money from my debit card inside the bank. In fact, this is what I usually do when I withdraw large amounts of cash. It's simple, only one transaction and the amount that one can withdraw is unlimited so one can empty ones account if necessary. I have had problems withdrawing over 500 USD per day using an ATM machine in the States. Regarding the fees, I have two debit cards from banks in Vietnam and one charges 3.89% and the other 4.0%, this is the admin fee for foreign currency transactions, most banks will also charge 10% VAT on the FCT. The FCT fees are the same whether you use an ATM machine or go into a bank. Of course, there are also addition ATM fees but not much compared to the FCT. Regarding the four digit pin code in the States, I have some frieds who have used the first four numbers and it has worked but I have not had those problems.

The best system is to get your Vietnamese Dong and change on the black market if you can't change the Dong into USD at your bank and just carry it. I also like to use bank drafts instead of carrying cash for the usual reasons.

kurtz · Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 518 Location: Phaic Tan

One is only allowed to carry out USD $ 7000 right?

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

That has changed to 5000 USD. But that is 5000USD undeclared. If you declare and have the tax documents to prove that taxes have been paid you can take as much as you want but must have the documents. or customs can confiscate and conduct an investigation. In the USA can carry 10000 usd or less and not declare, but more than 10000 usd must declare and this is because any banking transaction over 10000 usd in the usa and a document will be sent to the IRS and a document will also be sent to IRS if you bring in more than 10,000 USD. Bank drafts come in handy for the sole purpose of not having to carry cash. Cool

bobpen · Joined: 04 Mar 2011 Posts: 89

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

FCT= Foreign currency transaction, this fee is the fee charged by the bank in Vietnam, so if the FCT is 4%, the banks in Vietnam usually charge
10% VAT on the FCT fee so the minimum fee would be 4.4%. The fee at the bank in the USA is not that much. But beware of your bank asking you to send a currency other than USD such as Euros to your bank in the States. Your bank in the USA will charge you another fee to chage that into USD. Banks in Vietnam will try to do this when there is a large difference between SBV's official exchange rate and the black market rate.

tideout · Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 213

First of all thanks again to all responding to my post. I temporarily forgot the post and thought I'd be getting "auto-updates" on replies but somethings not working......

It sounds like the most direct way is the cash route.

What are the costs on a bank draft then? It might make sense for security reasons to go that route - just leaving enough for final business here and the airports. I assume it's similar to an international Money order with some days for clearance? No swift codes etc. needed?

If I go the cash exchange route what is the best place to go now and can there be problems with phoney bills and so on? What rate should I expect? Another reason I suppose to go the bank draft route....

Again, thanks to all.