Vietnam: Where do people renew their torn and damaged money?

Money that is torn into pieces or damaged is one of the reasons that money not eligible for circulation. Specifically, according to Article 4 of the Circular No. 25/2013/TT-NHNN of the State Bank of Vietnam, there are 03 standards for money not eligible for circulation as follows:

1. Money that is torn into pieces, damaged due to the circulation process (group of objective reasons):

a) Paper money, of which color is changed, of which designs, letters, digits are faded, which is wrinkled up, smeared, dirty, old; torn into pieces or patched up in full form;

b) Coins, of which the picture, designs, letters, digits and the plated layer are worn out, rusted, damaged partially or wholly.

2. Money that is torn into pieces, damaged due to the preservation process (group of subjective reasons)

a) Paper money which is holed, partially torn; patched up; fired or deformed due to contact with high heat source; of which printing paper, color, security specifications are changed due to the chemical impact (for example detergent, acid, corrosive, etc); which contains the writing, is drawn, erased; which is decayed or deformed due to other reasons, but not due to acts of deterioration.

b) Coins, which are curved, deformed, or of which design, picture is changed due to the impact of external force or high temperature; which are rusty due to contact with metal corrosive chemicals.

3. Money which contains technical error caused during the printing, coining process of the manufacturer, for example printing paper is rumpled causing the loss of picture or printing color, which is splattered with printing ink and contains other mistakes during the printing, coining process.

When people have money in one of the above cases, they will have the right to exchange money at the bank. This is the obligation of the Bank as stipulated in Article 6 of the Circular No. 25/2013/TT-NHNN. According to the provision of Article 6, for money that is not eligible for circulation as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular, State Bank branches, Central Banking Department, the collecting-exchanging unit shall be responsible for immediate withdrawal, exchange for customers who have demand, without limit of quantity and requirement of procedures. For money that is not eligible for circulation as stipulated in Clause 2 Article 4 of this Regulation, the above units shall receive and consider exchanging with the conditions specified in Point a, b Clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular. If the conditions for money exchange are not satisfied, these units shall return the money to customers and give a notice of the reason thereof.

Exchange of torn or damaged money is the obligation of the Bank. Thus, if the Bank refuses to exchange cash unfit for circulation for customers, it shall be imposed a fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 (Clause 2 Article 30 of the Decree No. 88/2019/NĐ-CP).

More details at the Circular No. 25/2013/TT-NHNN of the State Bank of Vietnam, effective from January 20, 2014.

Le Thanh

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