Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City reached more than 2.83 billion USD in the third quarter of 2026, up 39.5% from the previous quarter and 3.6% year-on-year.
This was the first quarter of positive annual growth this year, helping narrow the decline in remittance inflows over the first nine months.
According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Regional Branch 2, remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City through credit institutions and economic organisations totalled 2.835 billion USD in Q3, an increase of more than 802 million USD from Q2.
The result marked a recovery in remittance inflows after two consecutive quarters of year-on-year declines, at 16.9% and 27.9%, respectively. Positive growth in Q3 indicates an improvement in money transfers from overseas, although cumulative remittances since the beginning of the year remained below the level recorded in the same period of 2025.
By region, Asia remained the largest source of remittances to Ho Chi Minh City, with nearly 1.677 billion USD, or 59.1% of the total. The Americas ranked second, with 748.5 million USD or 26.4%. Remittances from Europe reached 222.1 million USD, while those from Oceania totalled 173.2 million USD.
Notably, economic organisations directly receiving and paying out foreign currencies accounted for the largest share, handling more than 2.2 billion USD, or 77.7% of total remittances in Q3. Remittances through this channel rose 58.5% from the previous quarter. By contrast, remittances transferred through credit institutions reached 631.4 million USD, down slightly by 1.6%.
Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, Deputy Director of the SBV Regional Branch 2, said the recovery in remittances to Ho Chi Minh City in Q3 was driven mainly by the Asian market. The Korean won’s appreciation against the US dollar was one factor affecting inflows, she noted. Seasonal factors also contributed to increased demand for transfers to support domestic investment and consumption as the year-end approaches.
Despite the improvement in Q3, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City remained under pressure over the first nine months of the year. Cumulative inflows through September 2026 reached nearly 6.87 billion USD, down 13.8% year-on-year. However, the Q3 increase significantly narrowed the cumulative decline from 22.8% in the first half of the year.
The SBV Regional Branch 2 forecasts that remittances to Ho Chi Minh City could reach around 9.5-9.8 billion USD for the whole of 2026, below the 10.3 billion USD recorded in 2025.
The recovery in remittance inflows in Q3 is expected to continue in the final months of the year, helping meet rising foreign currency demand as production, business activities, imports and holiday and Lunar New Year spending enter their peak period./.
