Vietnam implemented Decree 340 on forex supervision on February 9, 2026, cracking down on private forex exchange and underground money transfer, with fines up to 100 million VND and fund confiscation. Details compliance requirements for China-Vietnam import/export enterprises, fund risks, and local currency settlement optimization solutions.
On February 9, 2026, Vietnam officially enforced the new forex administrative penalty decree No. 340/2025/ND-CP, alongside Circular 39 on forex account management details, widely regarded as the industry's strictest forex supervision policy in recent years. This policy targets private forex exchange, underground cross-border money transfers, and border area large cash payments, comprehensively setting compliance red lines for trade funds. All cross-border payments for China-Vietnam import/export enterprises, foreign-owned factories, and border trade merchants must be settled through licensed Vietnamese commercial banks, completely eliminating private account receipts and payments, and non-official channel forex operations, to avoid high fines, fund confiscation, trade license restrictions, and other operational risks.
This new policy clarifies four core supervision rules and penalty standards, comprehensively tightening cross-border fund supervision:
First, completely prohibit private USD and VND exchange transactions between individuals and unlicensed financial institutions, abolishing large cash trade settlement at border crossings like Huu Nghi, Lao Cai, and Mong Cai. For illegal transactions over $100,000, the maximum penalty is 100 million VND administrative fine plus full confiscation of the involved foreign currency; for $1,000 to $100,000 fines are 20-30 million VND; for under $1,000, warnings and repeat offenses also incur fines in the millions.
Second, all trade payments, equipment purchases, profit repatriation by foreign enterprises, and overseas investment capital must be collected and paid through licensed institutions such as BIDV, MB, Sacombank, and Chinese bank branches in Vietnam. Personal bank accounts for trade payments and third-party underground transfer channels are strictly prohibited.
Third, for single cross-border transactions over $50,000, enterprises must complete online forex reporting with the State Bank of Vietnam, retain full documents including trade contracts, customs declarations, commercial invoices, and bills of lading for inspection, enabling cross-verification of bank flows, customs declarations, and tax data from three departments.
Fourth, offshore shareholder loans and project foreign debts must be registered online on the Vietnam National Public Service Platform. Foreign debts under $20 million are delegated to local central bank approval, simplifying the registration process while strengthening post-event data audits to prevent illegal cross-border fund outflows.
For a long time, many small and medium-sized trade enterprises operating in China-Vietnam trade have relied on private forex channels for settlement. While seemingly saving a small amount of exchange fees, this hides significant compliance risks. After the new policy, Vietnam's customs, tax, and forex management data are fully integrated. If enterprises are found to have private account receipts, underground exchange, or inconsistent data across three streams, they will be placed on a foreign trade dishonesty blacklist, resulting in revocation of import/export rights and export tax refund qualifications, cargo seizure at ports, and enterprise legal representatives facing administrative penalties or even criminal liability.
Currently, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam exceeds $250 billion annually, with key categories including textiles, electronic components, photovoltaic materials, agricultural products, and home appliances. Using Vietnam's formal banking settlement system, trade enterprises can directly choose direct RMB and VND local currency settlement, bypassing double USD exchange losses. Comprehensive fees for single cross-border transactions can be reduced by over 25%, and fund arrival time is compressed from the previous 3-7 business days to T+0 same-day settlement, significantly improving capital turnover efficiency.
Additionally, major Vietnamese commercial banks have simultaneously introduced trade finance products such as forward FX settlement, FX options, letters of credit, order financing, and import/export bill discounting. These help trade enterprises hedge against profit erosion from VND volatility and provide unsecured credit based on enterprise import/export flow, easing cash flow pressure for overseas factory construction and bulk procurement. For border small trade enterprises, platforms like Guangxi's "Maojintong" enable digital border trade settlement, online verification of customs, logistics, and order documents, paperless cross-border payments, further reducing offline operational costs.
Financial compliance professionals remind Chinese-funded trade enterprises and OEM factories operating in Vietnam to quickly review their current fund settlement models, immediately stop using private accounts for trade receipts and private forex exchange, standardize trade documents, fund flows, and customs data to align three streams, and prioritize cross-border settlement through Chinese banks in Vietnam or major Vietnamese banks. In the era of strict forex supervision, only adhering to formal banking settlement channels can safeguard fund security and effectively avoid fines, cargo seizures, and other risks in the long term.
