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I am moving to VN next month and have the same question, any info would be much appreciated

I just maintain 2 USA bank accounts with direct deposit and use ATM or go to bank and get cash.  For government checks vietnam banks do not have agreement for direct deposits.  However, Thailand banks can and do accept direct deposits.

Thank you for your response, but I have issues here in the USA that prevent me from opening a bank account.  I would definitely keep a US account if I could, would make life easier.

Anyone deposit a USA bank check in a VN bank?

I use Vietcom bank.  They allow a usd and a dong account.  Doesn't take much to open account.  They have offered to cash government checks, they charge a fee, was told 3 USA working days before the funds are available.  Never tried it.  There are a lot of retire folks that pick up there checks at the consulate in HCMC.

Thanks for the info ancientpathos!

ancientpathos wrote:

I just maintain 2 USA bank accounts with direct deposit and use ATM or go to bank and get cash.

You go inside the Vietcom bank and withdraw cash from your U.S. bank account? How does it work you bring your debit card and they swipe it? How much do they charge for that service?

My bank allows me to withdraw $2000 per day on my debit card so I take it to Vietcombank and they swipe it for 40 million vnd and charge me 3%, a little cheaper than if I took it out of the ATM machine and I only have to make 1 transaction.

VungTauDon wrote:

My bank allows me to withdraw $2000 per day on my debit card so I take it to Vietcombank and they swipe it for 40 million vnd and charge me 3%, a little cheaper than if I took it out of the ATM machine and I only have to make 1 transaction.

VTD I've been doing the same thing down here in Can Tho since I saw your post about it a few months ago, Thanks. I get 80mil VND at a time and yes VCB takes 3% but Bank of America charges me another 3%.

I do a wire transfer for $50 USD regardless of the amount transferred. So to transfer $2000 USD that is only 2.5% and no fee to withdraw. Yes Vietcom bank makes a nominal amount on the conversion. Still way cheaper and the more you transfer the less % to be charged.

ancientpathos wrote:

I use Vietcom bank.  They allow a usd and a dong account.  Doesn't take much to open account.  They have offered to cash government checks, they charge a fee, was told 3 USA working days before the funds are available.  Never tried it.  There are a lot of retire folks that pick up there checks at the consulate in HCMC.

Last time I checked with VCB the answer on cashing checks from the US was the same as it was in 2000, "sorry we can't process that type of action" As far as I know there are only currently two Banks located in Vietnam that can, ANZ and HSBC.BTW the Consulate quit handing out paper checks back in March of last year when the Treasury Dept stopped issuing them.

I've looked at my bank statements and found that I get charged only 97 cents per foreign transaction, doesn't matter if it"s at an ATM, bank, or airport duty free shop. And the amount of the transaction doesn't matter.

VungTauDon wrote:

I've looked at my bank statements and found that I get charged only 97 cents per foreign transaction, doesn't matter if it"s at an ATM, bank, or airport duty free shop. And the amount of the transaction doesn't matter.

Good old BofA, they charge me 5 bucks for each ATM withdrawal, regardless of the amount and 3% on any other foreign currency transaction.

Budman1 wrote:

ancientpathos wrote:

I use Vietcom bank.  They allow a usd and a dong account.  Doesn't take much to open account.  They have offered to cash government checks, they charge a fee, was told 3 USA working days before the funds are available.  Never tried it.  There are a lot of retire folks that pick up there checks at the consulate in HCMC.

Last time I checked with VCB the answer on cashing checks from the US was the same as it was in 2000, "sorry we can't process that type of action" As far as I know there are only currently two Banks located in Vietnam that can, ANZ and HSBC.BTW the Consulate quit handing out paper checks back in March of last year when the Treasury Dept stopped issuing them.

There are a few countries including Vietnam where a paper check is still issued for Social Security and Veteran Benefits for the folks residing here.  Checks are mailed to the consulatd to be picked up in person.

ancientpathos wrote:

Budman1 wrote:

ancientpathos wrote:

I use Vietcom bank.  They allow a usd and a dong account.  Doesn't take much to open account.  They have offered to cash government checks, they charge a fee, was told 3 USA working days before the funds are available.  Never tried it.  There are a lot of retire folks that pick up there checks at the consulate in HCMC.

Last time I checked with VCB the answer on cashing checks from the US was the same as it was in 2000, "sorry we can't process that type of action" As far as I know there are only currently two Banks located in Vietnam that can, ANZ and HSBC.BTW the Consulate quit handing out paper checks back in March of last year when the Treasury Dept stopped issuing them.

There are a few countries including Vietnam where a paper check is still issued for Social Security and Veteran Benefits for the folks residing here.  Checks are mailed to the consulatd to be picked up in person.

Budman, bet you 10000 dong paper checks are still coming to the consulate for Veterans and Social Security payments...

VT Don. A point of clarification: And your bank is?  Also, do you have one account in country, and one in the US? I have a small account in BOA stateside, and while they have branches in Vietnam, I was told that such were treated as transfers to another institution. I.e., a fee at each end which I believe is 3%.

I only have one bank which is in the US, Prosperity Bank of Texas. When Vietcombank swipes my card in their POS machine my bank treats it the same as if I was making a purchase. Vietcombank charges 3% which is added to the "purchase" but my bank only charges me the 97 cents

I have a US treasury check and I'm in Vietnam. Do you know any banks that accepts this check? Or any bank where I can open an account gd deposit the check?
Thank you.

I don't know about your personal banking situation, but the easiest thing for me to do would be to deposit it online (through my phone) to a US bank account, and then transfer it to Vietnam. Citibank will let you do all of this for free, so you can get the USD in cash in VN. There might be other banks that do, but Citibank is the only one I know of that has branches in the US and VN and will let you transfer USD between your international accounts for free.

krystelgrace04 I got stuck with one about 8 years ago here. They were suppose to do a direct deposit to my account but they cut a check and mailed it to me. Anyway, although the US Consulate has a cashiers cage they won't touch it. They suggested I try ANZ or HSBC (none of the VN banks can handle it). I opted for ANZ in Saigon, opened a account deposited it and if I remember right it took about 7 - 10 days to clear plus a 3 percent charge. They send it to a clearing house back in the States (Chase Manhattan). Not sure how long you've been holding the check, but it expires a year after it's been issued.

If you already have a US bank account, you may want to check and see if they have an app for your phone. I bank with three different US banks, and each one has an app that will allow me to deposit checks directly to my account by taking pictures of them with my phone.