A bank branch in HCM City. VNS File Photo.

HCM CITY -- Remittances sent to Việt Nam through banks in 2019 exceeded US$2.5 billion, up by 12 per cent compared with the previous year.

The biggest remittance flows came from Vietnamese guest labourers working in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, with many of the remittances sent in early December.

Vietcombank sent an average US$8 million of remittances per day, according to bank official Đoàn Hồng Nhung in HCM City.

Lê Thành Phong, deputy general director of HDBank, said since the end of December 2019 the number of remittance recipients at the bank rose by 20 per cent.

Remittance through HDBank in 2019 rose by nearly 40 per cent, with a major increase from Australia.

Remittance flows from the US remained stable, he said.

Nguyễn Minh Tâm, deputy general director of Sacombank, said that remittance through Sacombank in the last three months of 2019 rose by 30 per cent compared with the quarter of the previous year.

Tâm said remittances to Việt Nam came mostly from Việt kiều (overseas Vietnamese) in the US, UK, and Canada. In addition, remittances from guest labourers from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea were also on the rise.

Remittances from Overseas Vietnamese communities have not only been used as financial support sent to relatives, but also for investment in business activities at home.

Vũ Thành Trung, deputy general director of Đông Á Remittances Co., said that Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong were the major remittance resources for Việt Nam in 2019. The volume of remittances from these territories was expected to increase in 2020.

The labour markets in these countries and territories had been stable in the last few years, said Trung.

Đoàn Hồng Nhung, head of the sales management division at Vietcombank, said remittance to central coastal provinces including Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh and Thanh Hoá grew well this year.

However, policies to restrict remittance output from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong had affected the flow of remittances to Việt Nam this year, said Nhung.

Bank accounts

The amount of remittances through private bank accounts rose by 75 per cent compared with the same period last year.

According to sources from HCM City banks, many bank clients prefer receiving remittances through bank accounts because there is no difference between the exchange rates at the banks and the free market.

Because of this, the number of adults who can open accounts at banks is on the rise.

Banks and remittance companies have also launched and renewed services.

Nguyễn Minh Tâm, deputy general director of Sacombank, said that Sacombank had diversified remittance services, such as paying remittances at the bank’s cashiers, and paying through clients’ accounts through ATMs (automatic telling machines).

“A remittance receipt service can be done in two minutes,” said Tâm.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Vietcombank said the bank and its foreign exchange companies had also improved its remittance services. Clients could receive remittances promptly at home, even on peak days—VNS.