International Money Transfer U.S. Change on Banking Policy

Frankly, I'm surprised this was not changed long ago. The VN government wants all the USD they can get their hands on - do not want it passed out. But, the only reason I can think of for someone here to need USD would be for travel out of VN, or back to the US. Once the change takes place, there are many money changers throughout the city that will change Dong for USD. The exchange rate may not be so favorable, though.

I suppose it won't be so bad with the dong pegged to the dollar. Frankly I don't know what real effect it would have on me. I only liked the fact that I did not have to convert until I used it. We have both a USD and VND account. So maybe it is a non event. Other than to know when you do the next xfer you will need to tell them to send it to the VND account.

bta87 wrote:

Beginning in October we will no longer be able to do wire transfers in USD. All xfers will have to be converted to VND. Just informed of this by my bank.

This is a serious issue if it is nationwide..i.e. if the State Bank of Vietnam is dictating all banks to do this.  Keeping your savings in Dollars is a better hedge against inflation.

What bank do you do business with?  Maybe you should change banks.

Tran, you misunderstood the post I think. his is no a VN bank policy. This is new U.S. banking law/policy. So if you are doing the XFER  from any banking institution in the U.S.A to anywhere in the world, not just VN, it must be converted. The conversion takes place on the U.S. end. So when it
arrives in your bank in Germany, Vietnam, Japan it will arrive in that countries currency, not USD.
Hope I have explained it better.

bta87 wrote:

Tran, you misunderstood the post I think. his is no a VN bank policy. This is new U.S. banking law/policy. So if you are doing the XFER  from any banking institution in the U.S.A to anywhere in the world, not just VN, it must be converted. The conversion takes place on the U.S. end. So when it
arrives in your bank in Germany, Vietnam, Japan it will arrive in that countries currency, not USD.
Hope I have explained it better.

This is still serious.  What banking law/policy are you referring to?  I want to read more on it.  I like to receive and keep greenbacks since it is a hedge against inflation.

That is a complete change.  I also read it as VN banks will only give out transfers coming into VN in VND and no longer USD.

Maybe gold is a better hedge. I don't have the specific law/policy to site. My bank told me this goes into effect yesterday when I was wiring money. You might want to contact your U.S banks wire department. They can give you the actual reference material I'm sure. There is a reason VNese pay for their home purchases in gold bullion I suppose. It may be that it is indeed, a good hedge against inflation. I wonder if I could trade them some greenback for some gold?

bta87 wrote:

Tran, you misunderstood the post I think. ....

A cultural note... if you want to call an oriental by their given name, you should look to your right.   This is to emphasize that the family comes first before the individual. 

So John Smith in America is written as Smith John in Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, etc. 

Trần is a surname and is the second most common surname of the Vietnamese people (at 11%). 

So in my case, you would say "Dao" or "Hung Dao" (Dao, you misunderstood the post I think....) 

Keep that in mind when you want to address non-expat Vietnamese (or Vietnamese looking names) on this forum.

Yes Sir!

Hi bta87,
It means coming fund in VN for foreigners will be converted to VND? Actually it's strange, until now as I know Vietnamese or foreigners have incoming fund from overseas, they can withdraw in cash by VND or foreign currencies they transfer to VN as decree 160 for FX control.
For outward transactions, they can transfer any currencies if the bank has that currency.
If possible, can you tell me which bank informed this? I can guide you something for this issue.
Best regards
Trang Nguyen

bta87 wrote:

I don't have the specific law/policy to site. My bank told me this goes into effect yesterday when I was wiring money. You might want to contact your U.S banks wire department. They can give you the actual reference material I'm sure.

This deserves some research.  I'll look into it.  Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

bta87 wrote:

Maybe gold is a better hedge....

...There is a reason VNese pay for their home purchases in gold bullion I suppose. It may be that it is indeed, a good hedge against inflation. I wonder if I could trade them some greenback for some gold?

In the past, people purchased their homes with gold.  Recently however the government changed it and you can't legally buy houses with gold bricks anymore.  It is part of the government's policy to reinforce the local currency, the DONG (if people transact in gold or dollars, the authority of the local currency is weakened). 

As for your hypothesis that gold is a good hedge against inflation, it is a good hedge over the long haul, 10-20 years.  Recently global gold prices have dropped big time.  From a high of $1,800 an ounce in October 2012, it is now at $1,360 an ounce.  Down around 25% from the high.

Yes, you can buy gold with your greenback at a gold store.  They do the conversion to local currency for you.  The smallest unit is like a ring size, then the next is a small rectangle, a larger rectangle, then a big rectangle, usually a denomination of the previous...1x,2x,5x,10x.  So you have to multiply the quote to figure out how much to pay.  They kinda look like baseball cards/trading cards.



In contrast, the greenback has strengthen against the dong from a year ago.  From 20,800 dong per dollar last year to 21,200 dong per dollar this year (1.9% increase).

bta87 wrote:

Yes Sir!

Linda,
   Is that your sir name or your given name? hope and pray I got the order correctly. No offense.
Here is the phone number of my institution bank wire department. This is a U.S. # by the way
703-206-4074.

Indeed, gold has gone down. I would be more than glad to show you how to mitigate the risk. My background is in the CFP field. However, I am glad to see there are folks willing to hedge with dollars. This is why we call it a market. However, the market moves in an inverse way.

bta87 wrote:

Linda,
   Is that your sir name or your given name? hope and pray I got the order correctly. No offense.
Here is the phone number of my institution bank wire department. This is a U.S. # by the way
703-206-4074.

Here's a little culture tidbit. 

Nguyễn/Nguyen is the "surname" that is the most populous, with 38% of the Vietnamese population holding that family name.  It comes from the time when the Nguyễn/Nguyen Lords ruled the land and all the peasants belong to that house.

For more on family/surnames, read this wiki...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_name

Linda is her English name so she wrote it Linda Nguyen.  Her Vietnamese name is Trang and I'm going to guess with 90% confidence that her legal name is written like this:

Nguyễn Thị Trang

Hi bta87,

Pls do not worry, you can call me Trang or Linda or Nguyen, it's ok, I don't care so much about this, it just name to communicate Actually mostly Vietnamese prefer call first name but they still don't care so much if you call their surname.
For banking transfer, if you need help or discuss this area, pls send email to me, I'm working this area, so I can support to you.

Hi Mr Dao,
I hope I call your name correctly . I'm sorry but you guest not correctly, my full name is not Nguyen Thi Trang.

Thanks.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

Linda is her English name so she wrote it Linda Nguyen.  Her Vietnamese name is Trang and I'm going to guess with 90% confidence that her legal name is written like this:
Nguyễn Thị Trang

Linda Nguyen wrote:

Hi Mr Dao,
I hope I call your name correctly . I'm sorry but you guest not correctly, my full name is not Nguyen Thi Trang.
Thanks.

How sweet. I like your name Linda. Are you Christian?

Linda Nguyen wrote:

Hi bta87,

Pls do not worry, you can call me Trang or Linda or Nguyen, it's ok, I don't care so much about this, it just name to communicate Actually mostly Vietnamese prefer call first name but they still don't care so much if you call their surname.
For banking transfer, if you need help or discuss this area, pls send email to me, I'm working this area, so I can support to you.

Hi Mr Dao,
I hope I call your name correctly . I'm sorry but you guest not correctly, my full name is not Nguyen Thi Trang.

Thanks.

A little western culture note for you.  When using the title "Mister/Mr." you need to address it with a person's surname.  In my case, Mr. Tran.  Alot of Vietnamese get this wrong since they are crossing cultures and like to stick titles with a Westerner's first name.

Mr. John, Mr. Bob, Ms. Betty.  It sounds really weird.  Because Vietnamese are familiar with using titles with names such as "Ong Dao, Chu Dao, Anh Dao, Em Dao".

Americans in the past have used to address people in formal terms., i.e. John Smith would be "Hello Mr. Smith".  But today's world, they just go with the informal "Hey John".  You don't mix formal with informal...i.e. Mr. John.

If you want to go the formal route, you would address me as Mr. Tran.  Informally it's just Dao.

Linda Nguyen wrote:

Actually mostly Vietnamese prefer call first name but they still don't care so much if you call their surname.

I'd have to disagree with you on this one.  Considering that 38% of Vietnamese have the surname Nguyễn, advising "Westerners" that their Vietnamese friend doesn't care if they address them by their surname would be setting people up for failure. 

Here's the scenario..

"Bob" is meeting his friend "Nguyễn Du" at a crowded train station.  He sees his friend across the room and calls out his name "Yo Nguyễn over here".  Suddenly Bob is confused why a ton of people stopped and stared at him like he's a freeken uncultured moron from America. 38 out of 100 people shout back "Who me?"

So bta87, don't address Linda/Trang Nguyen as Nguyen.  You'll sound like a uncultured moron from America.

Hi Dao,
Just name to communicate this blog, why are you serious? If you want to teach someone or possitive contributor about communication in name, pls star a new topic or teach outside, not discuss here.
Btw, we're living in modern life, life is so complicated, why you don't think everything is more simply? Moreover we're here to giude or connect in positive way, so pls do not give a lesson and pls respect each other. Hope you can understand.
For bta87, he can call me Trang/Linda/Nguyen, any name he feel convenient to call, I don't mind as mentioned above message, this is a name to comunicate here. I'm sure other people, especially young people they still not mind this issue.

Hop

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

bta87 wrote:

Beginning in October we will no longer be able to do wire transfers in USD. All xfers will have to be converted to VND. Just informed of this by my bank.

This is a serious issue if it is nationwide..i.e. if the State Bank of Vietnam is dictating all banks to do this.  Keeping your savings in Dollars is a better hedge against inflation.

What bank do you do business with?  Maybe you should change banks.

So, the beginning of October came and went...does your receiving bank force you to receive your funds in VND?  I remember you scaring the crap out of me back in August with this post.  Glad it's not a blanket policy. 

This past week, I tested this and transferred money to myself.  The Vietnamese bank gave me the funds in greenbacks, did not force me to take it in VND at all.

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

In contrast, the greenback has strengthen against the dong from a year ago.  From 20,800 dong per dollar last year to 21,200 dong per dollar this year (1.9% increase).

A year ago the Cdn dollar was almost 22,000 dong per dollar. Now it's like 20,000 dong.

But I have a USD bank account and Cdn dollar bank account at the same Cdn bank. So don't know if this will have any effect on us Canadians.