Payment options for Vietnam

<p>Hello.</p>

<p>I'll be in Vietnam in a couple weeks. The travel agent I'm using doesn't take Visa and asks I wire money to her. I've used her before a few years back so I'm "sort of" OK with the wiring money option but can anyone think of other payment options? Even traveler's cheques? </p>

<p>Thanks ... Sorry for posting this in the Travel section. There used to be a Forum for any topic, even off-photography -- but I don't see it or forgot what the title was. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

Besides a credit card or paypal, I would think that wiring money is the safest way to get money somewhere. I

suppose you can just simply mail a standard check, which she would have to deposit and wait for it to clear.

You would have to look at the protection features of traveler's checks to see what happens if a signed check is

lost or stolen. If you are concerned about fraud, then you may want to look into travel insurance which usually

covers fraud or bankruptcy of travel agents and such.

Thanks Kenneth. The only issue I have with wiring money is that there is no fraud protection but I hadn't considered the

travel insurance angle. I was just told that banks in VN don't take traveler's cheques so that option is out.

<p>The first thing I would do is check on the internet for reviews about the travel agent, specifically referring to the payment.</p>

Thanks for all the comments. I have done business with the tour guide before -- I was there in 2012 -- but it went through

her employer's travel agency. When I was interested in returning, I contacted the guide (not the agency) via eMail since

we had stayed in touch and her eMail still worked. I'm pretty sure she's taking my visit and resultant payment as personal

income, not running it through her employer so ... no Visa card accepted. She was very helpful and did a lot of extra

helpful services for our tour group last time we were there and so my gut tells me she's being honest with her intentions in

this transaction. Still, I'd like to protect myself as much as I can (financially) before I get there.

 

 

I visited Wells Fargo today thinking I could do a wire transfer to the guide's bank account once we landed in-country but

was told that would not work as I need to be at the bank and sign for the wire transfer. The bank agency suggested a

"foreign currency draft", which is like a cashier's check but is cut in the country's local currency (VN Dong) ... then went to

check and told me Wells Fargo doesn't support VN Dong. Cashier's check ...? I Googled that and it seems even that is

problematic with VN banks because of a lack of full financial "relationship" with US banks (I don't know the industry

terms). Wire transfers DO work but there is no element of protection for the consumer (me).

 

 

It seems odd that in 2016 there is no more sophisticated way to do a protected financial transaction. I guess credit cards

are the only option and she doesn't accept those (again, undoubtably because she's doing this as a personal transaction).

Regardless, my travel companion and I will sit down with her in Hanoi and tell her how this must work in the future if she

hopes to do ANY business with foreigners ... or at least us from USA.

<p>Have you looked into using Western Union? I have used them in 2014 and 2016 to send funds to a tour company in Cambodia.<br>

My experience in Asia has been large payments such as for tours are paid for in US dollars rather than local currency.<br>

If Western Union is an option, be aware that you can save a significant amount of money by having Western Union withdraw the funds from your bank account rather than paying a Western Union rep directly. The Internet withdrawal fee is around $15 whereas the WU agent fee is $70. You have to give them your Internet banking account name and password so that they can verify that it is your account. I was a little skeptical of security, so as soon as I knew that they had received the funds from my account I changed my user name as well as my password for my bank account. It all worked out fine.</p>