SWIFT/BIC codes in Vietnam

Bank SWIFT codes for Vietnam

Here you will find the SWIFT/BIC codes of 114 banks in Vietnam. A SWIFT code shows every bank in the chain which institution should receive the money.

Choose a bank below to view its head office code and any branch codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The sections below explain how the codes work, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing before a payment.

Incoming international payments in Vietnam

If you expect a payment from another country on an account in Vietnam, send the payer all details at once. That means: your full name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the BIC of your bank and usually your address.

Find the bank in the list above. It helps to add the name and city of your bank because some forms have separate fields for it.

Do not be surprised if the amount credited is below what the sender paid. Correspondent banks can take a fee and your own bank may charge for processing, and if the money is converted, an exchange rate margin applies. Make clear with the sender who pays which costs.

Check the code before you pay

The safest source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. A wrong code can cause a delay, a payment being sent back or additional charges, so compare it with the list on this page.

The directory on GoldexPay is compiled from publicly available sources and is updated regularly. Banks merge, change names and retire codes – a directory can be a step behind. For a payment of any size, check the code with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site.

Be wary of payment requests containing a new account – a common fraud method. Before paying, verify changed details by phone on a number you know.

The structure of a Vietnam SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC codes use the same format worldwide: eight characters plus an optional three-character extension. Characters one to four stand for the bank, the fifth and sixth characters are the country code and characters seven and eight mark the location.

You can recognise a code from Vietnam from the fifth and sixth characters – those always form the country code of Vietnam. When those two letters do not match Vietnam, the code belongs to a bank somewhere else.

The last three characters, if present, identify a specific branch; XXX means the head office. For most transfers the head office code is fine unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

Transfer times to Vietnam

How fast money arrives in Vietnam is determined by several factors: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, cut-off times and time zones. Bank holidays in Vietnam or in the sending country can add a day or more to the journey.

If the money is late, ask the sender to contact their own bank and ask for the status or the UETR. Save your transfer receipt until the recipient confirms; a bank needs it to start a trace.

The largest SWIFT network in Vietnam: Vietnam Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development

Vietnam Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development leads our list of Vietnam banks when it comes to SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office uses VBAAVNVXXXX.

Practice differs in whether they register branch codes – a high count is not a measure of size. Paying someone at Vietnam Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development? Use VBAAVNVXXXX unless a specific branch code is requested.

Paying a bank in Vietnam from abroad

For Vietnam you almost always need a SWIFT/BIC code – Vietnam is not a SEPA country. Without the BIC, most banks cannot send the transfer.

Depending on the country, accounts are identified by a local account number instead of an IBAN. Check with the recipient exactly which details their bank requires for incoming international payments – many banks give clear instructions for this. Before it arrives, a transfer may pass through correspondent banks that take a fee.

What a transfer to Vietnam really costs

The price of a transfer to Vietnam is made up of more than one component – not only the fee you see. Besides the fee, intermediary banks can deduct a charge and, if currencies are converted, the bank usually uses a less favourable rate than the actual market rate.

That exchange rate margin is often the largest part of the cost. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate; the gap is what conversion costs you.

Money transfer services often use rates closer to the mid-market rate. Before your next transfer to Vietnam, it is worth comparing the total cost via GoldexPay rather than accepting the first rate you see.