On a multi-million-dollar exit transfer, fee differences between banks and the choice of who bears charges can be worth a car. But fee optimisation in Vietnam must stay inside forex management: the flow must pass through the investment capital account, with no detour via personal or third-party accounts to ‘dodge fees’.
The three cost layers of one transfer
Layer one: the Vietnamese capital-account bank’s fee — an outward remittance fee (usually a percentage with min/max caps) plus SWIFT charges. Layer two: intermediary correspondent-bank fees on the USD or EUR route — outside the sending bank’s control and often deducted in transit. Layer three: beneficiary-bank fees and exchange spread if the order is in a currency different from the account’s. Comparing banks means comparing the all-in landed cost, not layer one’s published tariff alone.
OUR, SHA, BEN: who bears the charges
Wire orders offer: OUR — sender bears all fees, the amount arrives intact; SHA — shared, the beneficiary absorbs part of the intermediary and receiving fees; BEN — beneficiary bears everything. For contractual exit money (transfer price, liquidation sums payable in an exact agreed amount), OUR is the safe standard, avoiding an underpayment allegation. For intra-group flows with no exact-sum duty, SHA is often more economical — recorded in the payment instruction and reconciled on internal finalisation.
Lawful optimisation: batching, currency and timing
Three lawful levers: batch amounts into fewer large orders instead of many small ones (cutting repeated minimum fees and SWIFT charges), without merging files of transactions different in nature; send in the capital account’s own currency to avoid double conversion; and negotiate a bespoke tariff for large or recurring transfers with the servicing bank instead of retail rates. Any ‘optimisation’ that splits transactions to dodge document-check thresholds is an abnormal-transaction flag in forex management — saving small fees at the price of frozen orders and inspections.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are transfer fees tax-deductible for the enterprise?
Bank fees with valid documents that relate to the enterprise’s activities (for example profit remittance or loan servicing fees) are ordinarily deductible under the Corporate Income Tax Law 67/2025/QH15. Fees of the investor’s personal transactions cannot be booked as enterprise costs — separate the fee-bearing subject correctly in the payment instruction from the start.
Which bank is cheapest for exit transfers?
There is no fixed answer: tariffs vary by bank, currency and client relationship, and the capital-account bank is the mandatory channel for investment-capital transfers — ‘choosing a cheap bank’ really means choosing at capital-account opening for the project and negotiating tariffs for large transfers. Comparison must include estimated intermediary fees and the applied exchange rate, not just published fees.
In-transit deductions made the received amount short of the contract — what then?
If the contract requires an exact sum (gross-up) and a SHA or BEN order was deducted en route, the sender must top up the shortfall. Next time, choose OUR and state it in the order. For evidence, statements and the SWIFT MT103 copy prove the deductions — keep them with the transaction file for queries from the receiving bank or tax authority.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council
