HCMC banks competing for remittance recipients ahead of Tet
HCMC banks competing for remittance recipients ahead of Tet
HCMC-based banks are launching promotional programs to attract recipients of remittances which normally surge before the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.
Nam A Bank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) have introduced a promotional program for remittance recipients, in which customers receiving US$200 or more through the Western Union network at Nam A Bank will be given an additional VND50,000 for each transaction. The program will run until January 31.
Additionally, remittance recipients at DongA Bank will be entered into a lucky draw, with prizes being SJC gold bars, while Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank presents Tet gifts and bonus cash to remittance recipients. Further, the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) awards prizes of up to VND1 million for those customers receiving remittances via the banks’ accounts.
Tran Minh Khoa, chairman and general director of Sacombank Remittance, said that remittances to Vietnam always soar ahead of Tet, resulting in a sharp spike in revenues, compared to normal days.
Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the central bank's HCMC branch, said that the city reported an estimated US$5 billion in remittances last year, accounting for half of the country’s total, which showed a positive signal, even as the flows of investment capital are gradually being withdrawn from emerging economies following the U.S. Federal Reserve System’s interest rate hikes and other economies on the trend of tightening currency systems.
Many banks said that remittances were mainly used to support relatives in the country.
Overseas remittances supporting relatives come mainly from the U.S., Canada, Australia and European countries, where many Vietnamese people reside. The amount of the remittances for this purpose, however, has been on the downturn in recent years due to the rise in income of the Vietnamese people.
Meanwhile, remittances to the country for labor export activities have recently surged. The annual average number of laborers entering Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea for work has grown by 10% to 15%.
