Remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City through banks and authorised financial institutions totalled USD 2.032 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with Asia accounting for almost half of the total, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.
Asia remained the city's largest source of remittances, contributing more than USD 1.002 billion, or 49.3 per cent of total inflows. The figure was up 9.8 per cent from the previous quarter.
Compared with the first quarter, remittances from Asia increased by 9.8 per cent, making the region the main driver of overall growth. By contrast, inflows from Europe fell by 3.3 per cent, the Americas declined by 4.3 per cent and Oceania dropped by 12.1 per cent. Remittances from Africa rose by 15.3 per cent but had only a limited impact because of their relatively small share.
During the first six months of 2026, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City totalled USD 4.037 billion, down 22.8 per cent from the same period in 2025 and 21 per cent lower than in the second half of 2025.
Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Regional Branch 2, said the decline reflected a combination of international and domestic factors.
Globally, slower economic growth, the continued strength of the US dollar and tighter immigration policies in several countries had affected the employment, incomes and ability of overseas Vietnamese to send money home.
In the Americas, particularly the United States, which accounts for the largest share of remittances to Ho Chi Minh City, persistent inflation, higher living costs, changes in the labour market and tax policies affecting some money transfer transactions had also weighed on remittance flows.
Domestically, Lien said some investment channels had failed to attract remittance capital, while the zero per cent interest rate on foreign currency deposits had encouraged some overseas Vietnamese to keep their savings abroad or invest in alternative assets. In addition, the growing use of new payment channels had diverted some transfers away from the banking system, reducing recorded remittance volumes.
The State Bank of Vietnam's Regional Branch 2 forecast that, provided the global economy avoids major disruptions and the expected recovery in the second half of the year continues, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City could reach between USD 8.6 billion and USD 8.9 billion in 2026.
