Change your money at a bank or a licensed exchange counter. On 29 October 2026 Vietcombank bought US dollar cash at 25,630 VND and sold at 26,040 VND, and no unlicensed dealer can legally beat that. Since Decree 340/2025/ND-CP took effect on 9 February 2026, exchanging currency outside licensed channels, whether at a gold shop, a market stall or with someone who approaches you on the street, can be fined up to 100 million VND, and the penalty falls on the traveler as well as the dealer.
So the short plan: bring clean US dollars or your home currency, change them at a bank or an authorized counter, top up with dong from a low-fee ATM, and pay in dong for everything.
What is the exchange rate in Vietnam right now?
The State Bank of Vietnam sets a daily central reference rate and commercial banks may trade within 5% of it, so bank rates across the country stay within a narrow range.
On 29 October 2026 the central rate was 25,631 VND per US dollar, which allowed trading between 24,402 and 26,864 VND. Vietcombank's counter rates that morning were:
| Currency | Bank buys your cash | Bank sells to you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 USD | 25,630 VND | 26,040 VND |
| 1 EUR | 28,055 VND | 29,534 VND |
| 1 GBP | 33,520 VND | 34,944 VND |
| 1 AUD | 17,758 VND | 18,512 VND |
| 1 SGD | 19,637 VND | 20,512 VND |
In practice, US$100 in clean notes gets you roughly 2,563,000 VND at a bank counter. Check the live number before you travel. The gap between the best and worst legal rate in Vietnam is usually under 1%, which on US$500 is a few dollars, not a reason to hunt around town.
Where should I exchange money in Vietnam?
Banks and authorized exchange agents are the only places worth using, and the difference between them is paperwork rather than price.
| Where | Rate | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Bank branch | Best, most consistent | Bring your passport. Open Monday to Friday, roughly 8:00–11:30 and 13:30–16:30; most close weekends |
| Authorized exchange counter (shopping centers, tourist districts, large hotels) | Close to bank rates | Fast, no paperwork, often open late. Must display its authorization notice |
| Hotel front desk | Fair at 4–5 star hotels, poor at small ones | Convenient for small amounts; ask the rate before handing over cash |
| Airport counter | Usually the weakest | Change only what you need for the first day, then use a bank in town |
| Gold shops, street dealers, a "friend of a friend" | Looks attractive | Illegal since 9 February 2026, and the counterfeit risk is yours |
Legitimate exchange points are easy to identify: banks and authorized agents are required to display a notice at the entrance and at the counter showing they are approved to buy and sell foreign currency, following a State Bank directive to commercial banks in January 2025. If there is no notice and no posted rate board, walk away.
Is it legal to exchange money at a gold shop in Vietnam?
No. Only licensed banks, licensed credit institutions and their authorized exchange agents may buy foreign currency from you, and Decree 340/2025/ND-CP, in force from 9 February 2026, raised the penalties sharply.
| Amount exchanged outside licensed channels | Penalty for an individual |
|---|---|
| Under US$1,000 | Warning (first offense) |
| US$1,000 to under US$10,000 | 10–20 million VND |
| US$10,000 to under US$100,000 | 20–30 million VND |
| US$100,000 or more | 80–100 million VND |
Confiscation of the currency is an additional penalty. This is the biggest change since this guide was first published: jewelry and gold shops used to be the standard tip for a good rate in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and that advice is now a liability. A 10 million VND fine is about US$385, far more than any rate advantage you were chasing.
What kind of US dollar notes should I bring?
Bring notes that look like they came out of a bank yesterday. Banks and authorized agents in Vietnam refuse or discount US dollar bills that are torn, inked, taped or heavily faded, and pre-2009 series US$100 notes are often turned away outright. Ask your bank at home for new bills, and check them before you fly.
Notes that get accepted everywhere
Notes a Vietnamese bank will refuse or discount
Smaller denominations also get a slightly lower rate than US$50 and US$100 notes, so bring a mix weighted toward the bigger bills and keep the small ones for your first taxi.
Should I bring cash or use ATMs in Vietnam?
Do both: bring enough cash to change at a bank on day one, then use ATMs for the rest, choosing the machine by its fee rather than by whichever is closest.
Vietnamese ATMs charge their own fee on top of whatever your home bank charges, and the per-withdrawal cap matters as much as the fee. Approximate figures as of late October 2026:
| Bank | Fee per withdrawal | Maximum per withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| VPBank | Free | 10,000,000 VND |
| Techcombank | ~22,000 VND | 5,000,000 VND |
| Agribank | 22,000–30,000 VND | 3,000,000–5,000,000 VND |
| Vietcombank | 50,000–55,000 VND | 2,000,000–5,000,000 VND |
| BIDV | 3%, minimum 50,000 VND | 3,000,000 VND |
| TPBank | ~3.3% of the amount | 2,000,000–5,000,000 VND |
Every Vietnamese ATM shows the fee on screen before the final confirmation, so you can always cancel. Take the largest amount the machine allows to spread one fee over more cash, and use ATMs attached to a bank branch during opening hours. If the machine swallows your card, staff inside can retrieve it the same day.
Can I pay in US dollars, by card, or by QR code?
Pay in dong. Vietnamese law restricts the use of foreign currency for quoting, advertising, pricing and payment inside Vietnam, with narrow exceptions set out in Circular 32/2013/TT-NHNN, among them visa and border fees collected from non-residents and licensed foreign exchange services.
A souvenir shop or driver may still accept your dollars, but they will set their own rate, almost always in their favor, and they cannot give you change in dollars.
Cards work at hotels, restaurants, malls and most tour offices in the main cities. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted, American Express less so outside large hotels. Street food stalls, rural homestays, local markets and most Hà Giang (Ha Giang) or Pù Luông (Pu Luong) guesthouses are cash only, so never arrive in the countryside without dong. When a card terminal asks whether to charge in VND or in your home currency, choose VND: the other option is dynamic currency conversion, and it quietly adds a few percent to the bill.
Vietnam has also linked its VietQR system to several foreign payment apps, so visitors can scan the same QR codes locals use. As of 29 September 2026 this covers Singapore (LiquidPay, Aleta Planet, DCS DeCard), China (WeChat Pay, and Alipay through Sacombank), South Korea, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Cross-border QR transaction volume from Thai, Lao and Cambodian visitors rose almost eightfold in the first eight months of 2026, so merchant familiarity is improving quickly.
How much cash can I bring into Vietnam?
There is no limit on how much you may carry, but you must file a declaration with border-gate customs if you are bringing in more than US$5,000 in cash (or the equivalent in another foreign currency) or more than 15,000,000 VND. That threshold is set by Circular 15/2011/TT-NHNN and applies to cash only: cards, traveler's checks and passbooks are excluded.
Two details catch travelers out. Even if you carry under US$5,000, you must declare it at the border if you intend to deposit it into a foreign currency account at a Vietnamese bank, and the customs-stamped form is what the bank accepts, valid for 60 days. On the way out, if you are taking more cash than you brought in, or more than the threshold, you need either a written certification from your bank or written approval from the State Bank of Vietnam. If you are leaving with no more than you declared on arrival, the stamped entry declaration is enough and stays valid for 12 months.
The two thresholds are separate: US$5,000 applies to the foreign cash you carry, and 15,000,000 VND (about US$576) applies to dong. For a two-week private tour with hotels and transport already paid, most couples carry US$600–900 in spending money, which is nowhere near either limit.
Which Vietnamese banknotes will I actually use?
Vietnam uses banknotes only. No coins have circulated since the 2003 coin series was withdrawn in 2011, and the six polymer notes do almost all the work.
| Note | Material | Approx. value | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$19 | Hotels, restaurants, bigger shops; small stalls often cannot break it |
| 200,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$7.70 | Meals, entrance tickets |
| 100,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$3.85 | Taxis, cafés, street food |
| 50,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$1.90 | Drinks, coffee, small tips |
| 20,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$0.77 | Water, parking, motorbike taxi |
| 10,000 VND | Polymer | ~US$0.38 | Change, small snacks |
| 5,000 / 2,000 / 1,000 VND | Cotton paper | Under US$0.20 | Change at markets; still accepted everywhere |
Count the zeros, not the color. The 20,000 and 500,000 notes are both printed in blue tones, and 10,000 and 200,000 are both in reddish brown, the two pairs people most often confuse at a night market. Polymer notes have a clear window and a raised, slightly rough feel to the printing; a note that feels limp and smooth deserves a second look.
Local tip from our guides
- Ask for a mix when you change money. On a US$200 exchange, request a few 500,000 and 200,000 notes for hotels and restaurants, then 100,000, 50,000 and 20,000 notes for taxis, water, tips and markets. Breaking a 500,000 note at a noodle stall is a daily annoyance you can avoid at the teller's window.
- Split your cash. Keep a day's spending money in your pocket and the rest in the hotel safe.
- Hà Trung Street in Hanoi is the city's traditional currency street, but only use a shop there that displays its authorization notice and a rate board.
- Say "dong" at the card machine. Every time a terminal offers to bill you in your own currency, decline. Your own bank's rate beats the terminal's.
Frequently asked questions
Change a small amount only. Vietnamese dong is hard to buy abroad and the rate outside Vietnam is poor. Bring your home currency in cash and change it at a bank after arrival.
Yes, at a bank or authorized counter at the airport, though you will lose a little on the spread. Keep your exchange receipt, and spend down to small notes before your last day. Dong is difficult to sell once you are home.
Yes, but less than you would think. Hotels, transport, guides and listed meals are prepaid, so your cash covers drinks, snacks, souvenirs, optional entrance tickets and tips. Plan roughly 300,000–500,000 VND per person per day for comfortable extras.
No. Very few banks still handle them and no shop will. Use a debit card for ATMs plus a cash reserve instead.
Use machines at a bank branch during business hours so staff can help immediately. If it happens after hours, call your card issuer to block the card and ask the branch the next morning. Retrieval usually takes a day or two.
Tipping is not obligatory but is appreciated for guides, drivers and hotel staff. Always tip in dong. A dollar bill means an extra trip to the bank for the person receiving it.
No. Coins were withdrawn from distribution in 2011, so all payments are in notes. Expect small purchases to be rounded to the nearest 1,000 VND.
Plan your trip with World Mate Travel
Money questions are easier when someone local has already worked out the details. World Mate Travel is a licensed Hanoi-based tour operator, founded in 2008, and we build private, custom itineraries across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and South Africa, including halal-friendly tours for Muslim travelers.
Tell us where you want to go and how you like to travel, and we will send a private itinerary with everything prepaid, so the cash in your pocket is for coffee and souvenirs. WhatsApp +84 988 660 505 or email sales@worldmatetravel.com.
Written by David Ng, CEO & Founder of World Mate Travel, a licensed Vietnam tour guide with 25 years of experience who also guides in Bahasa Indonesia.
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