Chaos in fees for exchanging lucky money; beware of scams.

Fees have doubled.

On February 4th, a post on social media by someone named HL read: "Exchange money until the 30th of Tet (Lunar New Year), the closer it gets to Tet, the higher the fees." HL provided a table showing significantly increased fees for exchanging new banknotes for Tet lucky money compared to two weeks ago. The fees for 1,000 VND notes increased from 10% to 20%, 20,000 VND notes from 6-8% to 15-20%, and 50,000 VND notes from 7% to 8%... These fees doubled or tripled compared to before. Other denominations such as 2,000 VND, 5,000 VND, 100,000 VND, and 200,000 VND remained unchanged at 10%, 4%, and 3% respectively.

On a currency exchange forum in Thu Duc City (Ho Chi Minh City), a person named LD advertised having 4 bundles (each bundle containing 100 banknotes) of 20,000 VND denomination and 3 bundles of 100,000 VND denomination, exchanging them with a 5% fee for "quick transactions". Thus, to exchange a total of 38 million VND in new banknotes, the customer would lose 1.9 million VND in fees.

Fees for exchanging new banknotes have increased.

Compared to previous years, the exchange fee for each denomination has increased by 1-10%. A notable feature of this year's market is the chaotic exchange fees for 20,000 VND notes. One person named HN reported a 13% fee for 20,000 VND notes, a 3% fee for 100,000 VND notes, with some places quoting 20%, others 15%, and still others 13%. Several banks stated that new 20,000 VND notes are scarce this year, with many people unable to exchange even a single bundle. Meanwhile, larger denominations like 100,000 VND and 200,000 VND notes have been available since early on. Denominations like 10,000 VND and 50,000 VND notes have become more common in recent weeks.

On some social media sites, a few people are occasionally offering to exchange a few thousand 200 dong banknotes, but most of them are old bills. The exchange fee for these 200 dong notes is also exorbitant. Specifically, a batch of nearly 5,000 200 dong notes is being offered at 1.4 million dong, which is 400,000 dong higher than their actual value, or 40%. Most exchange points advertise free delivery if located nearby, otherwise delivery via Grab will incur a fee.

Besides new banknotes, banknotes featuring dragons from other countries or commemorative banknotes with dragon motifs have also seen skyrocketing prices. A 100-yuan note from Macao with a dragon design costs 150,000 VND for 10 notes (compared to around 400,000 VND for 100 notes two weeks ago); a pair of gold and silver coins with dragons from Australia has increased in price from 60,000 VND per pair to 90,000 VND per pair, with some places selling them for 150,000 VND per pair; a Bhutanese 1 Ngutrum dragon coin combo of 5 notes costs 150,000 VND, 10 notes cost 250,000 VND, and 20 notes cost 450,000 VND…

Specifically, for the popular 2 USD banknotes in recent years, the fee has decreased during the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), from 60,000 VND per note to 55,000 VND per note. However, 2 USD banknotes are being offered in a variety of customized versions, such as banknotes with 3D gold-plated dragon designs on the left and right sides to commemorate the upcoming Year of the Dragon. A complete set including a 3D gold dragon 2 USD banknote and a red envelope for Tet is priced at 135,000 VND.

Beware of scams.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Ho Chi Minh City branch, stated that the demand for payments and circulation of goods and currency typically increases during the year-end period. This is an objective phenomenon, and credit institutions are strengthening their payment services and monetary and treasury operations to ensure that the demand for cash is met in terms of quantity, structure, and quality for the circulation of goods and currency. Simultaneously, through cash collection and disbursement operations, they are improving the quality of currency in circulation; exchanging and selecting banknotes that do not meet circulation standards.

Mr. Leinh emphasized that only the State Bank of Vietnam's provincial and city branches and credit institutions are permitted to exchange banknotes that do not meet circulation standards. Therefore, any act of collecting or exchanging new banknotes or small denominations by individuals or other organizations to profit from the difference, or exchanging money online, is not permitted, violates legal regulations, and must be prevented and strictly dealt with. The State Bank of Vietnam hopes that relevant agencies and departments will promptly report and provide information to prevent and handle such cases. At the same time, they should inform the public to ensure full awareness of the policy and prevent potential legal risks.

Agribank has just issued a warning that as Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, the exchange of small denominations and new banknotes becomes more rampant due to the tradition of giving new banknotes as gifts. Taking advantage of this demand, many money exchange services have appeared on social media with attractive offers such as "low exchange fees," "guaranteed genuine money," "banknotes in consecutive serial numbers," etc., causing many people to fall into the trap of losing money and getting scammed.

Agribank has issued warnings about a widespread scam involving the exchange of new banknotes on websites, Facebook, Zalo, TikTok, and other platforms. The exchange fee varies depending on the quantity and denomination of the money. Customers are offered nationwide delivery. Besides exchanging new banknotes and small denominations, these platforms also advertise the exchange of rare banknotes at prices many times higher than their actual face value. For banknotes with attractive serial numbers, the selling price can reach millions of dong.

Besides incurring additional exchange fees, there have been numerous cases where users received counterfeit money, money with missing serial numbers, or old and damaged bills. Some even lost their entire deposit and had their communication cut off. Agribank advises citizens and customers not to engage in illegal money exchanges; proactively prevent and avoid the schemes and tactics of individuals who exploit money exchange activities for the purpose of profiting, defrauding, and misappropriating assets.

According to Government Decree 88/2019 on administrative penalties in the monetary and banking sector, any act of exchanging new banknotes or small denominations for profit is illegal and may be subject to a fine of 20 to 40 million VND. This fine applies to individuals; for organizations, the penalty is doubled.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/loan-phi-doi-tien-li-xi-can-trong-lua-dao-185240205112223923.htm