Banks in Vietnam are refusing to accept the currencies of many nations.
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| USD is banks\' first priority |
Out of all the foreign currencies in the world, many banks have begun to be very selective, only accepting those countries such as US, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Singapore and Australia.
Mrs. Trang of Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, contacted Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) to sell £400, but the bank’s staff refused to buy it. After that, she tried the Bank of Agricultural in Rural Development (Agribank) where she received the same answer. In the end she had to sell the currency to a gold shop.
Nguyen Thanh Toai, Deputy General Director of ACB, said the bank only buys British pounds by transfer, not in cash. He explained that currently ACB only buys five foreign currencies, including USD, Japanese yen, Euro, Australian dollar and Singaporean dollar.
Dao Hong Chau, Deputy Genearl Director of Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) said, before going abroad, people should know whether the currency of the country they will visit will be accepted by Vietnamese banks on their return. If not they should exchange their cash before coming back.
Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy General Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City branch, said the institution only buys freely convertible currency. Only commercial banks exchange foreign currency for individuals. He added that the state bank will work with commercial banks to satisfy the demand for currency exchange.
Recently, the Prime Minister requested the State Bank of Vietnam to issue a regulation allowing individuals to carry a maximum of only USD5,000, or it’s equal, abroad.
Those carrying more than this will have to file documents and meet all other requirements of customs agents.