Publicly selling small change at the gate of Tay Ho Palace
According to records on January 27 (28th of Tet), at the gate of Tay Ho Palace, small change was openly sold at many shops selling ceremonial items.
When the reporter introduced herself as a customer who needed to exchange small change for a year-end ceremony, Ms. Thanh Nga - the owner of a store selling offerings at the Palace - said that the exchange rate here is 10 for 8, meaning that when exchanging 100,000 VND, the customer will have to pay a fee of 20,000 VND, equivalent to 20% of the amount needed to be exchanged, to the owner of this store.
"My house has all kinds of denominations, all in series, you can exchange them here, I sell them at a preferential price of 1 for 8. Smaller denominations have higher fees. Here I have 10,000 VND, 5,000 VND, 2,000 VND, 1,000 VND and 500 VND.
I've been doing business here for a long time and have a good reputation. I exchange small change every year. You can take as much as you need. Next year, when you're used to it, tell me in advance to give you a discount," Ms. Nga shared.
To make it easier for customers to see and exchange money when needed, the coins at Ms. Thanh Nga's store are tied into large piles and placed on top of a series of goods and flowers in the store.
Not far from Mrs. Nga’s shop, Mrs. Kim Oanh carefully arranged stacks of small bills in a glass cabinet waiting for customers to exchange. Notably, the exchange fee here is up to 30%.
"The exchange rate at my house is 100 to 70, which means if you want to exchange 100,000 VND in even money, it will cost 30,000 VND. You can exchange as much as you want, as long as you have money to exchange," Ms. Oanh informed.
Not only is it openly displayed on the road leading to the Palace, but also in the shops selling offerings and animal release items inside Tay Ho Palace, the phenomenon of exchanging small change for a profit also occurs, although not openly.
Introducing himself as a temple-goer who needed to exchange small change, the owner of Duc Vy store at Kiot 15 inside Tay Ho Palace admitted to exchanging small change at a rate of 30%.
"This is the general price, 100 for 70 here everyone exchanges that price, you can refer to it, if you can't find a cheaper place, come here and I will exchange it for you", said shop owner Duc Vy.
Online money exchange boom
On social media platforms such as Zalo, Facebook..., a series of advertising posts appeared, from exchanging small change, new money to selling unique lucky money, with attractive commitments such as "cheapest price on the market" or "guaranteed real money". Money exchange fees range from 1-15%, depending on the denomination and scarcity.
On the group "Exchange small change, new money at cheap price in Hanoi" there are more than 25,000 members, a series of posts about money exchange services with difference are updated every hour.
Late in the afternoon of the 28th of Tet, an account named Pham Diep Linh publicly posted an advertisement to exchange small change at a "preferential" difference with the content "I've run out of 50k, 20k and 100k left. I'm selling 10k - 6%, 2k - 10%, 5k - 6%, 100k - 1.5%, 200k - 1% in Ngoc Lam area, Long Bien".
"Right now I only have 2,000 VND, 5,000 VND and 1 - 200,000 VND. If you need to get it, please let me know soon and I will ship it to you. This is a sensitive matter so I do not accept direct delivery. Please understand. The lower the denomination, the higher the exchange price," Diep Linh informed over the phone.
Not only exchanging small change for profit, these private groups also openly accept exchanging foreign currency for profit despite violating the law.
*Character names have been changed
According to the State Bank's regulations, only licensed financial institutions are allowed to exchange small change and new money. In addition, exchanging money for profit, especially on social networks, is illegal and can be severely punished. Decree 88/2019/ND-CP stipulates a fine of 20-40 million VND for individuals who violate the law, while organizations and businesses that violate the law can be fined up to 80 million VND.