Hi Vjers

After using Xoom.com to send money to Vietnam for over a year and a half, I've stopped using them for several reasons:

1. Poor customer service, if you need them, they only answer emails with "canned" answers that don't address your problem. If you call them they don't answer the phone....... After repeated calls (I'm persisitant) , and waiting for over 2 hours on hold, I get "canned" answers from them. In other words, no customer support!!

2. They take your money and "play" with it for several days before sending to the country where it's suppose to go. For example, they will debit my bank account within 2 business days but not deliver the money for over a week after the money has been debited. Their online status shows that transaction is "in processing"....... In other words they take all the transactions in process (Think MILLIONS!!!) and use your money to make short term loans to businesses to make them more money.......

3. The hidden fee of a lower currency exchange rate, ie USD to VND is around $1=1600VND, they use a rate of $1=1588VND.

4. I've found a better service....

If you open a WAMU (Washington Mutual Bank) online checking account (and saving if you want, it's also a good deal no min balance and over 3% interest). The online checking account is free of monthly fees, supplies free checks, cash back on using their debit/credit card upt to $250 a year and FREE OUTGOING WIRE TRANSFERS INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL WIRE TRANSFERS. There is possible exchange rate fees and other fees at the bank you send the money to. In Thi's case, TechComBank (according to her family) doesn't charge any fees for receiving the wire and gives a higher exchange rate than XOOM but they have keep $20 in their account at the bank. So that's what we're doing now instead of XOOM .

If everything works out like it should, this seems like the perpect way to send money!!!


Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26
I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11
I-129F RFE(s) :
RFE Reply(s) :
I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26
Touched: 2007-11-02
NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16
Consulate recieved ??????
Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11
Packet 3 received 2007-12-24
Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28
Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14
Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23
Interview Date 2008-2-27
Passed Interview 2008-02-27
Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05
Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)
POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles
Wedding 2008-4-26

Interesting. Please let us know how it works out. I'm hesitant with bank initiated wire transfers though.

What about simple ATM machines?

That was my thought. I was just going to leave an ATM card on an account I have here in my city. When I wanted to send money I would just deposit money into the account and tell them they could withdraw however much it is. There will be an ATM fee and international fee of a total of $3 for the bank I use myself. For now though when I have needed to send Xuan any money we just use Western Union. It gives receipts of who from and who to and it has that information on the web site too. It does cost more but the quick access to money and receipt are worth it to me.

Just a thought

My First Time I sent Any Money I went threw My Credit Union 30.00 Transfer Fee.
then at Vans bank a 2% Fee. i sent 1000.00 to her and it cost about 50.00.

Then I went to a Local Vietnamese Market and They charge 2.00 per 100.00 sent. And they got it to Van Within 48 hours.

I have always used International Wires through my bank. They smack me pretty hard, $40, for each time and then the bank in Vietnam takes another chunk. However, it has always been pretty efficient for me and my wife.

We've been using MoneyGram through Wal-Mart and it is very effective and cost efficient. I believe it is around $9.50 for each $500 USD sent.

We fill out the form, make payment and the money is available within minutes, without any fees on the receiving end.

Link: Wal-Mart MoneyGram

Link: MoneyGram Worldwide Locator

STL_HCMC

Jack in Whiteland there is are 2 Pilot Travel Centers and in Seymour there is a Travel Center of America. Western Union has a special program called Direct Connect. You call 877.984.0473 and give them the information. They will then give you an 8 (or maybe 10) digit code. You then take the cash (and it must be cash, as stupid as that is these days) to either travel center (to my knowledge only Pilot and T/A participate) and pay them. It is only a $6 fee for up to $300 I think. It is cheaper than the regular Western Union service. If you do it make sure and ask if you can get a gold card. That way you just give them your number every time and they pull up the information.

i've been using Western Union, they are great

How long does it take them to receive it in Vietnam, also which town does your fiancee live?
Thanks

easiest way i have found to send money is to go to a local vietnamese jewelery store. they only charge me $4 per $100 to send it and they receive same day in vn. also good place to get best deals on phone cards to vn.


rodney

I found Western Union to be pretty reliable though they have recently raised their rates on money transfers. I tried to have my fiancée open up an account so that I could transfer funds from my account to hers but for whatever reason every Vietnamese person that I speak with are opposed to the banks. I am not sure why this is. I would think that it would be a more secure means of exchanging currency than at the local jewelry store.

I noticed that too (about th banks). Are you in NYC?

This may sound like a stupid question but do you live in Indiana? I would love to meet up with others that are or have gone through this process and I only know of one person.

No, I'm a Trucker in the Entertainment Industry. I'm getting ready to go out with the "Warped Tour". It's a bunch of punk/alternative bands. We will be in Noblesville, IN on July 31st. It's above Indy, so it's a little ways away from you. That's as close as I'll be all summer if they leave me on the tour. Sometimes things change here. It's hard to make plans. If you want to make the drive though I'll gladly meet up. I just met Melrose Plant and his wife Mai at a Flying J truck stop the other night. It was pretty cool.

I have thouht about changing to a truck driver. I think it would be a good way for Xuan and I to be able to spend time together and for her to see some of the country. I have not discussed it with her yet. I am not sure about the pay though. I guess that would depend on many factors with the largest factor being that I have never even seen the inside of a Semi. I guess that is what the schools are for though.

the delivery service the jewelery store uses is pretty reliable. they take the money too my fiancees home or work so she doesnt have to go anywhere to get it. very fast service also. you can also send as much money as you want and if you send over $500 it is only $2 per 100 sent.


rodney

I live North of the city but work in Manhattan.

I live North of the city but work in Manhattan.


No Travel Centers there!

i send money via local asain market. its $3 to send $100 and if you send $200 or more its just $2 per $100.
here another helpul cost savings, i think lol. i use a calling card company its very cheap and it shows all the calls with to and from numbers and dates,times, and mintues used. when i call my fiancee on her cell its 8.7 cents a min. if call her land line its 5.7 cents. i liked it alot, its quick to buy more mintues and i also liked it because the site can be read in english and vietnamese, it worked well becasue my fiancee could just go print all the phone records as hse needed. saved me from having to mail them.lol. you can look at the site to see if there is a local call out number for your area, if not they have toll free numbers to use. just call there 800 number to set up the account.
https://savingcall.com/en/index.aspx

Great information, thanks for sharing. We made the mistake of using phone cards that I purchased off of street vendors in China Town. We didn't realize at the time that we needed phone records so we have about 8 months with no phone records because it was too expensive to call from my land line or mobile. I was looking into the magic jack but they don't provide a detailed list of calls http://www.magicjack.com/1/index.asp. I think that it will be a good choice for when she is here and wants to call her family to cut down on the phone bills. We normally talk about 4 or 5 times a week for about an hour or so each time we talk. The bills do add up quickly.

Someone posted this over in the off topic section:

Hey, hubby and I are looking for a cheaper way to send money home to Ethiopia (Best right now is Moneygram at $14.00 per transation- too high!). We're thinking of getting a separate checking account giving them a debit/atm card, but we want to see if we can eliminate fees all together. So I've been looking into banks with no ATM fees. I came across Bangor Savings Bank. Anyone hear of them? They are offering no ATM fees world wide, and will reiburse when other banks charge.

Anyone know of any other banks with free ATM usage world wide?



http://www.bangor.com/PersonalBanking/BenefitChecking.aspx

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1928843

and I posted:

I did a little investigation on them and didn't find anything unusual:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%22bangor+s...lient=firefox-a

They had some counterfeit Treasury checks passed there and were the target of a phishing scheme. That's normal stuff.

I would have 2 questions for them:

1.) How much they charge for wire transfers.

and 2.) Does Visa charge for the ATM use. My Visa check card requires me to pay 1% for overseas transfers.

Yeah, VN jewelery stores are the best way. My wife's family gets the money same day, delivered to their house.

Here's the update so far about WAMU, they don't charge for the wire but they go thru HSBC USA which does charge a $5 fee to send the wire to TechComBank. TechCom Bank does charge a fee of $6, even tho they told Tuan they didn't before we sent the wire. It took two days to arrive at TechCom Bank. Now I'm trying to find out how to get around these fees since that is more than other services. I'll keep you posted.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26
I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11
I-129F RFE(s) :
RFE Reply(s) :
I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26
Touched: 2007-11-02
NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16
Consulate recieved ??????
Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11
Packet 3 received 2007-12-24
Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28
Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14
Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23
Interview Date 2008-2-27
Passed Interview 2008-02-27
Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05
Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)
POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles
Wedding 2008-4-26

how about www.westernuinon.com ????? Save time and money do it @ your home PC
money can be delivered or pickup @ local banks

i've been using western union for 2 years
fee $3/100, less if you send 500 or more

I use westernunion and it cost me $20 every time I send $100. Maybe I am getting robbed?

You guys may want to check out this place.

hxxp://www.legoitienle.com/

This company had been in the business for a long time and had been known by the Vietnamese Community. Reliable service, fast and cheap too. You will get the money the same day. Low Rate.

Good Luck.

This is who I use to send money to VN.

http://www.abcmsb.com/index.html

15 minutes you'll get a control number (your relative will need that to pickup @ the bank), the money will be available for pickup (if you chơose pickup option the they will call your relative to let them know the money is ready for pickup) @ the local banks they do have a list of banks online if you want to know which one is closer for you to get to, it will take a day for them to deliver. after your relative got the money, you'll get a nofication email from Western Union.
you can come to western union agent tơo.

my wife is living in Bình Đại, Bến Tre, she's now in Binh Duong to study English in Saigon, i sent her money yesterday in Binh Duong.

are you serious, i've been using western union for 2 years they charge me $3 for every 100

I left my ATM card for my parent, it work out great.

Here's the final update on using Wamu for sending wires to Vietnam. There's law that requires all international wires be processed thru a 3rd party bank. If the bank in Vietnam has a special relationship with the 3rd party bank, there may be no fee charged by the 3rd party bank. That fee, if charged, is taken out of the funds being wired. The 3rd party bank could be one of many. Then it's up the local bank to not charge the person recieving the wire a fee. Since we couldn't get a straight answer from the Vietnamese bank about which 3rd party bank to use (we can request Wamu use that 3rd party bank to avoid a fee) and whether they would or would not charge a fee to Thi's family, we decided on a different way.

Anh Minh Money Transfer Inc. charges $2 to send $100 USD to Vietnam and they deliver the cash in USD. Her mother gave the driver who delivered the money a tip of 10,000 VND. You can find some Anh Minh Money Transfer locations (agents) online but mostly they are to be found in local immigrant neighborhoods. In our case there's one at K Video in Reseda, Ca. Their aggreement says it can take up to 10 days to deliver the money but most times it's the next day. The downside is they didn't give her mother a receipt. I don't know if that's because she didn't ask for one or what. We did get one for sending the money. We sent the money on a Saturday and her mother got the money on Sunday (US times). If you use this service before your interview, I would make sure to get receipt of your fiane(e) recieving the money or use a different service.

Hope this helps others needing to send money overseas.

Peter and Thi

I-129F Sent : 2007-05-26
I-129F NOA1 : 2007-06-11
I-129F RFE(s) :
RFE Reply(s) :
I-129F NOA2 : 2007-10-26
Touched: 2007-11-02
NVC Recieved: 2007-11-16
Consulate recieved ??????
Packet 3 sent 2007-12-11
Packet 3 received 2007-12-24
Packet 3 returned 2007-12-28
Packet 4 sent 2008-1-14
Email Reply with Interview Date 2008-1-23
Interview Date 2008-2-27
Passed Interview 2008-02-27
Visa Pick Up Date 2008-3-05
Received Visa 2008-2-29 (called to pick up earlier)
POE 2008-3-05 Los Angeles
Wedding 2008-4-26

I have used Xoom twice now and they were very quick both times and soon after I did the debit card the money was sent and a email in reply that the money was ready to be picked up. I sent the info to Fiancee and she went right down and received it with no problem. I did try to use moneygram or western union but the nearest places that she could go to retrieve money was far. She seems to be a bit outside of normal places that have newfangled thingamijigs to do anything.

I am also a truck driver for almost 10 years and need to use the internet for most things. I am only home 4-5 days a month.

4 or 5 days? Lucky! I knew home time with this company was virtually non existent going in though. Who are you with?

Was with Crete for almost 7 years but had to leave them. Have been with JB Hunt for almost 3 months but they suck so looking at another company right now. I stay out usually until I get road happy and need some hometime and ask to go home for fun.

western union is only about 12 bucks for sending 2 or 3 hundred

Xoom cost me about half that.