How has the USD to VND rate changed in the past year?

ST
Strawberry
User·

USD to VND Exchange Rate: What’s Really Happening Over the Past Year?

If you’re running a small import business, freelancing for a Vietnamese client, or just obsessively tracking currency for a Southeast Asia trip, you’ve probably wondered: how has the USD to VND (Vietnamese Dong) exchange rate changed in the last twelve months? In this article, I’ll walk you through how to track the rate, what the trend has actually looked like (with screenshots and sources), and how international trade rules and standards make this not quite as straightforward as you’d think. I’ll even throw in a real example of how a sudden exchange rate swing caught me off guard last autumn.

How to Check the USD/VND Rate (With Screenshots)

Let’s start simple. If you need to know today’s USD/VND rate, there are a few reliable places:

  1. Google “USD to VND”. You’ll get an instant quote, e.g. Google Finance. But that’s not always the rate you get at the bank or on Wise.
  2. Check XE.com for historical charts. This is my go-to for year-on-year trends.
  3. Vietnam’s central bank (SBV) publishes official rates on their site: SBV. But fair warning: the interface is clunky, and it’s in Vietnamese.

Here’s a screenshot I took recently from XE:

USD to VND 1-year chart from XE.com

You can see the wobbles and spikes—more on that in a second. I like to check the “1Y” (one year) view to get a sense of the overall movement.

Actual Trends: What the Numbers Say (2023-2024)

So what really happened to the USD/VND rate? Here’s what I found after digging through XE.com and cross-referencing with Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) and the State Bank of Vietnam’s weekly bulletins:

  • June 2023: ~23,500 VND per USD
  • December 2023: ~24,300 VND per USD
  • April 2024: Brief spike to 25,400 VND per USD
  • June 2024: Hovering around 25,300 VND per USD

That’s a roughly 8% depreciation of the dong against the dollar over twelve months. The biggest jump happened from February to April 2024, which caught a lot of importers (myself included) totally off guard.

This trend matches what the IMF recently noted: “The Vietnamese dong came under pressure in early 2024 due to global US dollar strength and domestic economic adjustments.”

Why? US interest rates stayed high, pulling capital out of emerging markets. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s export growth slowed a bit. The SBV did intervene to stabilize things, but the dong still weakened.

Expert Opinions & Real-World Impact

I called up a friend who works at a logistics firm in Ho Chi Minh City. His take: “We saw sudden swings in April—some of our US clients delayed payments, hoping for a better rate, but the dong just kept dropping. For Vietnamese exporters paid in USD, it was actually good news—they got more dong for every dollar. But for importers, costs shot up overnight.”

The World Bank’s June 2024 update backs this up (source): “Recent VND depreciation reflects global trends and domestic monetary policy. Impacts on inflation and trade are being closely monitored.”

Personally, I had a freelance payment from a US client scheduled for March, but the wire transfer got delayed because of a banking holiday. By the time it landed, the rate had shifted over 2%. I lost almost 1 million dong on the conversion—ouch.

Global Verification Standards: Why Rates Aren’t Always What They Seem

One thing that’s easy to forget: the “official” rate isn’t always the rate you get. Banks, remittance services, and trade contracts might use different “verified” rates, depending on regulations.

According to WTO’s GATT Article VII, customs value for trade purposes must use a “fair, uniform and neutral system” (see WTO legal text). But in practice, Vietnam’s customs authorities (General Department of Vietnam Customs) might use a daily reference rate, while US banks use their own spot rates.

Let’s say you’re importing electronics. The invoice says $10,000, but the customs office values the shipment at the official SBV rate, which can differ from your bank’s rate by 1-2%. That sounds tiny, but for big shipments, it’s real money.

Here’s a quick table comparing the two countries’ “verified trade” standards:

Country Standard Name Legal Basis Executing Agency
United States Customs Exchange Rate US Customs Regulations (19 CFR 159.35) US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Vietnam Official Interbank Rate Vietnam Customs Law 2014 General Department of Vietnam Customs

You’d think this would be harmonized, but it’s not. The result: sometimes your “actual” cost is a surprise, especially if the exchange rate moves fast.

Case Study: Getting Burned on a Payment

Here’s where it gets personal. In October 2023, I placed a deposit on a shipment of LED lights from the US to Vietnam. The invoice was $2,500. I checked the rate at my local bank—23,800 VND per USD—and figured I was good. But the payment got flagged for extra paperwork (classic), and by the time it was released, the rate had jumped to 24,100. That was a 1.3% increase, costing me an extra 750,000 dong (about $30).

Worse, the customs office used a slightly different rate for calculating import duty, so I ended up paying more tax too. The lesson? Always budget for a buffer when sending money cross-border, and check both the commercial and customs rates in advance.

Comparison Table: “Verified Trade” Rules, US vs Vietnam

Just for reference, here’s a quick side-by-side of how “verified” exchange rates are handled in the US and Vietnam:

Country Exchange Rate Source Legal Reference Who Decides?
US US Federal Reserve / CBP Published Rate 19 CFR 159.35 US Customs and Border Protection
Vietnam State Bank of Vietnam Official Rate Vietnam Customs Law 2014 General Department of Vietnam Customs

Each side sticks to their own benchmarks. If you’re in logistics or finance, you have to double-check which rate applies to your transaction—otherwise, you get caught out.

Final Thoughts: What I’d Do Differently

So, where does this leave us? The USD/VND rate has clearly shifted a lot in the past year—mainly in the dollar’s favor. If you’re dealing with international payments, that means more unpredictability. Based on my own (sometimes painful) experience, I’d recommend:

  • Always check both bank and official rates before sending/receiving money
  • Build in a buffer for sudden swings—1-2% is not unusual these days
  • Watch global news (US Fed rate hikes, Vietnam policy announcements)
  • If you’re importing/exporting, confirm with customs which rate will apply

And if you want to dig deeper, check out the links I’ve included for official sources. The WTO, US CBP, and Vietnam Customs all publish their rules online—though sometimes you have to wade through a sea of legalese. For the average user, XE.com and Google Finance are the quickest ways to get a snapshot.

If I’d known in advance how unpredictable the rate could be, I’d have set up alerts and maybe even considered locking in a forward rate. But hey, live and learn. If you’ve had a similar experience, or found a better way to hedge the risk, let me know!

References:

Add your answer to this questionWant to answer? Visit the question page.