BY changing change to make a profit during Tet 2021 can be severely fined up to 80 million VND

There are tens of thousands of results when typing the search "change change" on Google. Websites with many names such as: "Money exchange service", "Tet money exchange" or "Cheap money exchange", ... are ready to meet the needs of people to change change, new money in a period of time. peak near the Lunar New Year.

Along with that, the invitations to exchange money appear on social networking sites more and more densely when the Lunar New Year 2021 is approaching.

The change fee will depend on each denomination. Like coins with denominations of 1,000 dong, 2,000 dong, the fee will range from 13 to 15%, for 10,000 dong, 20,000 dong is 6-8%, and for 50,000 dong and 100,000 dong, the fee is 3-5%.

"The money is always in new condition and in the same series, in the original seal of the bank. New coins in various denominations from 500 dong to 100,000 dong are always available," an advertisement for changing change.

However, a point worth noting is that exchanging change for profit on the difference is illegal and can be fined. Specifically, at Point a, Clause 5, Article 30 of Decree 88/2019/ND-CP, penalties for violations of regulations on money and treasury management are as follows:

- A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations: Changing money in contravention of law.

- This is the fine level applicable to individuals; the fine level for organizations committing the same act of administrative violation is equal to 02 times the fine level for individuals (Point b, Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree 88).

However, in order to attract customers, money exchange websites all advertise with preferential exchange fees, safe and convenient transactions. There are sites that also publicize the conversion fee table with the number according to the survey from 3 - 15% depending on the denomination.

"The money is always in new condition and is in the same, original condition of the bank. New money is always available in many denominations from 500 VND to 100,000 VND. Just text the amount of money to change, 5 minutes will have a staff quote a quote. now, make friends on zalo to receive wholesale prices" - the advertisement was publicly recorded on a website to receive money exchange.

Money exchange services are also active on social networks. There are a lot of "online markets" that are exchanging, buying and selling retail, new money operating in closed groups on Facebook. In a closed group called "Change new money, change money xxx" there are more than 18,000 members. Every day, there are hundreds of articles about the exchange of change and new money by the members of this group.

In addition to exchanging new currency in VND of denominations, the online money exchange market also has a service to buy, sell and exchange many currencies of many different countries. According to the reporter's research, the most sought-after banknotes are still bills with denominations from 2 to 100 USD. The exchange fee depends on the denomination and the quantity requested by the customer, even for bills with a beautiful series, the cost of exchange is higher.

Notably, some parties also provide items such as "$2 bill with a gilded buffalo image", "US$2 bill in the shape of a buffalo in the year of birth", "a 100 Macao buffalo in 2021", etc. . with the price of hundreds of thousands of dong per sheet, but it is difficult to verify the origin and origin.

The story of changing change every Tet holiday is not a new thing for Vietnamese people. As soon as the appointment comes up again, entering the time of Tet, this market is hotter than ever. On social networks, in groups, there are constantly articles advertising change, exchanging change with full denominations, selling bills with beautiful serial numbers or dates of birth.

In addition, these services often operate mainly on social networks and pose many risks. Specifically, scammers can take advantage of people's needs, ask customers to make transactions by transferring money or top up scratch cards, then block contact to rob the money.

Lawyer Nguyen Ngoc Lien (Hanoi Bar Association) said:

"In order to limit the situation that many people take advantage of the need for change and new money to exchange money for high fees, it is necessary to have propaganda and change people's awareness. Instead of going to pagodas, use 10 If you have a 1,000 dong or 2,000 dong bill for merit, you can use a 10,000 dong, 20,000 dong, or 50,000 dong bill to make merit."

Some sellers said that in recent years, the State Bank has stopped issuing new change on Tet holiday, so in order to get the change to sell to people who need to buy, they had to hoard right from the previous year. there.

Hoarding activities are also carried out along with collecting coins with beautiful series such as four quarters, great fortune, date of birth to resell at high prices to those wishing to buy souvenirs or gifts. In fact, there are people who are willing to spend millions to buy a note with a denomination ten times smaller.

The cost of changing change is also not cheap, some places charge a fee of 7% for every 1 million money exchanged. Some people charge a fee according to the face value, the smaller the denomination, the higher the fee. A facebook account for exchanging change with a fee is quite expensive.

For 1000 VND, the exchange fee is 40,000 VND for a pack of 100 sheets, accounting for 40% of the value; with a face value of 10,000 VND, the exchange fee is 80,000 VND for 1 million; with the amount of 20,000 VND, the exchange fee is 90,000 VND/million. Although expensive, but the questioner exchange a lot of money.

Many potential risks

Ms. BMA (Hoang Mai - Hanoi) was once a victim of online money exchange. Accordingly, after transferring money to the service provider, the amount received by Ms. BMA is not in accordance with the original commitment.

"My need is to exchange money for lucky money on New Year's Day, I transferred money to close the order via Facebook. But after receiving, the amount I changed was missing compared to the previous commitment. Facebook account holder after the transaction also blocked me, so I can't be contacted anymore", - Ms. BMA said.

That is just one of many cases of being scammed by sophisticated tricks of online money exchange. People can face a series of risks such as short of money, using illegal money, unknown origin or even counterfeit money.

Lawyer Quach Thanh Luc (Hanoi Bar Association) said that it is illegal to exchange change for profit and to pay the difference. Accordingly, Decree 88/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in the field of currency and banking clearly stipulates that illegal money exchange can be fined up to 80 million VND.

"Specifically, a fine of between VND 20 million and VND 40 million will be imposed for the act of exchanging money in contravention of the law. The above fine applies to individuals, and to organizations will be twice as severe." - Lawyer Quach Thanh Luc said.

Previously, in December 2020, the Prime Minister issued Directive 44/CT-TTg on strengthening management and administration in order to stabilize market prices and ensure social order and safety during the Lunar New Year holiday. Tan Suu festival, which requires the authorities to strengthen the detection and handling of acts of changing change in contravention of the law.

During the press conference on implementing the tasks of the banking industry in 2021 taking place on December 24, 2020, the State Bank of Vietnam also confirmed that it would tighten the exchange of change and new money during Tet. Accordingly, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2021, the policy for printing new change will still be applied as in previous years. Specifically, the State Bank will not print new small denominations. According to the share of Mr. Dao Minh Tu - Deputy Governor of the State Bank, the restriction of printing small change helps the budget save 3,500 billion VND.