Currency and Money in Vietnam

Exchange Rate

The Vietnamese currency exchange rate is quite stable and hasn't changed sharply or significantly in the last five years or so. To quickly calculate Vietnamese money into rubles, multiply thousands of dong by approximately 3. For example, let's convert 100,000 dong to rubles: 100 thousand dong * 3 = 300 rubles.

Here is today's rate against the ruble, euro, and dollar. If the current date is displayed incorrectly in your browser, refresh the page with Ctrl+F5.

Market exchange rate (Vietnamese dong) for today (03/06/2026)

Real currency exchange rate *

* - The real exchange rate is calculated taking into account the fees charged by exchange offices and banks for the exchange. It can also be higher than the calculated one, but if you are offered an exchange rate lower than this, it's a reason to think about finding another place to exchange.

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* The calculator converts amounts based on official world currency exchange rates. When exchanging currency at exchange offices, the rate will differ slightly depending on the exchange office's commission.

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What is the currency in Vietnam

The national currency of Vietnam is the dong. The dong is denoted as VND, D, or the official symbol - ₫. It is one of the lowest denomination currencies in the world, so all prices are listed and transactions are made in thousands of dong. Sometimes you might see prices in hundreds of dong on goods in supermarkets, for example, a can of beer might cost 9,800 dong, but at the checkout when paying in cash they will still ask for 10,000 dong, and either not give change or give it in candy.

Cash in Vietnam is issued in banknotes and coins. Coins are hardly used, and if you get a coin in your hands, consider yourself lucky. Banknotes in circulation are 500,000, 200,000, 100,000, 50,000, 20,000, 10,000, 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500 dong. High-denomination notes (from 10,000) are made not from paper but from plastic, which significantly extends their circulation life: they are waterproof, don't tear, and hardly wrinkle.

The front side of the banknotes features a portrait of Uncle Ho Chi Minh, the reverse sides have various images: Temple of Literature in Hanoi, Japanese Bridge in Hoi An, Halong Bay, the house where Ho Chi Minh was born, an offshore oil platform, the ancient capital of Hue City.

Coins in 5,000, 2,000, 1,000, 500 and 200 dong are also in circulation, but it's practically impossible to encounter them in real transactions. If you do come across such a coin, definitely keep it as a numismatic rarity.

Officially, all transactions in Vietnam are conducted only in the national currency. But in practice, sometimes prices for tourists for hotel accommodation, tours, and tourist transport are quoted immediately in dollars, although they recalculate and accept dong at payment. It's rare to pay directly in dollars, and euros are generally not accepted very willingly. Sometimes, mainly at markets, you can pay in a mix: in dollars and dong, or pay in dollars and ask for change in dong (this is sometimes convenient and profitable).

How much currency can be imported/exported from Vietnam, are there restrictions

There are no restrictions on importing or exporting cash currency. The only requirement is to declare any foreign currency equivalent to over $5,000 USD per person upon entry or exit, as well as national currency in amounts over 15,000,000 dong per person. The declaration itself carries no consequences or additional costs; it's a mere formality. If you have less than the specified amount, you don't need to declare anything. But if you don't declare the money and are caught during a customs inspection, the consequences can be serious, including fines and confiscation of the money.

Amounts in bank accounts and on cards are not accounted for; there are no restrictions on them.

What currency to bring to Vietnam

It is currently impossible (almost) to buy Vietnamese dong cash in Russia. As far as we know, dong is sold for rubles in certain Far Eastern banks, but we calculated the rate, and it turned out less favorable compared to exchanging via dollars or euros. So you need to bring one of the world currencies: US dollars, euros, or yuan.

The preferred currency for import and exchange in Vietnam is the US dollar. The rate for the euro may be slightly less favorable, although there will be no problems exchanging it; it's accepted everywhere. Chinese yuan can be exchanged, the rate is more or less acceptable, but for now yuan is not very widespread here, so you'll have to search for an exchange office or bank. If you already have yuan in hand, don't exchange them for dollars or euros at home, you'll lose more on that exchange; better bring yuan directly.

As you can see, the most profitable option is old-style US dollar cash or new-style if you can buy them at Russian banks at the price of old ones (which is almost impossible). Ruble cash is the worst; you lose almost 7% compared to dollars.

Do they accept old dollars and is there a difference in the rate

There are no major problems exchanging old-issue dollars, those without the blue security strip, in Vietnam. They are accepted for exchange in banks, exchange offices, jewelry shops, and travel agencies. The rate for them is 300-500 dong per dollar lower depending on the place, which is about 1.2-2% lower than for new bills. If they are willing to accept both old and new bills at the same rate, then the rate at that place is likely already undervalued even for new bills.

But it's very important that the condition of the bills is perfect: no creases, scuffs, marks. Even if you fold such a bill just once in half and a crease appears, they might refuse to accept it or accept it at an even lower rate.

Can I exchange rubles in Vietnam

Yes, exchanging rubles in Vietnam is possible, though not everywhere and not at a good rate. At least at the moment, the objective situation is exactly that, even though some bloggers and travelers in chats sometimes write otherwise.

You can indeed encounter such opinions online that direct exchange of rubles in Vietnam will be more profitable because only one conversion occurs, not two as via the dollar. But in practice, a simple calculation shows that losses from direct exchange at a single point in time are greater than via the dollar. All of this is logical and explained by the fact that the spread (difference between the buy and sell rate) for rubles is much higher than when exchanging rubles for dollars and dollars for dong. That is, for example, you exchange rubles for dong and immediately lose about 20% commission (spread), which is ultimately higher than the sum of spreads from two exchanges via the dollar.

From our practice and precise calculations, we know that losses from direct ruble exchange compared to exchange via the dollar amount to 4-5%. That's not that much in principle if you're exchanging a small amount within about 10,000 rubles. But if you have a long journey and need a lot of dollar cash, these are already significant losses.

Now, about where you can exchange rubles. Banks and airports almost nowhere exchange rubles. Even if you see a ruble exchange rate on a board at an airport or bank, it's far from certain you'll actually be able to exchange. At least, we haven't been able to do it for experimental purposes. Real ruble exchange we've encountered only at street exchange offices and in "tourist service centers" (essentially just Russian-speaking travel agencies) at resorts popular with Russians in Nha Trang and Phan Thiet/Mui Ne, and nowhere else. We won't reveal specific locations so as not to advertise these establishments, but you can easily find their coordinates via search engines, or ask other tourists or guides at your destination.

Another option is exchanging non-cash rubles for dong through shadow schemes (cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, etc.). The scheme is as follows: a courier or "money changer" comes, you transfer rubles to a Russian bank account, and receive dong cash. You can find such exchanges on Telegram or through other tourists, but be very careful with this, otherwise you might fall victim to the old "triangle" scam. The "triangle" scam is when you transfer money to an account named by the courier, but he claims the money didn't reach him and you transferred it to someone else by mistake, and leaves without giving you the cash.

Where to exchange currency in Vietnam

You can exchange currency in Vietnam at exchange offices, banks, jewelry stores, travel agencies, airports, and even hotels. Private exchange offices and jewelry shops offer the best rates, banks and airports offer slightly worse rates, and hotels, travel agencies, and hotel guides may offer completely unprofitable rates.

Watch our video about the most profitable places to exchange currency in Vietnam with real numbers, and we'll explain each method in more detail below:

• Jewelry shops and private exchangers

  Vietnam is one of the few countries with a unique cash currency exchange market, where you can exchange cash dollars or euros at a rate higher than the official market rate. Exchange at such rates is primarily available in jewelry workshops and stores, which sometimes don't even have a "Money Exchange" sign. For example, in our experience, on a day when the official rate was 25,300 dong per dollar (about the same or slightly lower rate you'll find at exchange offices even in tourist areas), the rate at jewelry shops was 25,600 dong. That means the difference when exchanging $100 in such a case would be 30,000 dong, i.e., about 1.2% of the exchange amount, and that's only compared to the official rate. And if you compare with rates at banks or travel agencies, the difference is even greater. So if you need to exchange money profitably and aren't afraid of minor difficulties and the possibility of fraud, head straight to jewelry shops.

  We personally always exchange money exclusively at jewelry shops, have never encountered fraud, and the rate is almost always excellent. They typically don't have a board or paper with exchange rate information. To find out the current rate, you should go into a jewelry shop and ask if they exchange currency (if you can't say it, just show a dollar bill and say "Exchange"). They'll show you the exchange rate, and you just need to decide whether to exchange and very carefully recount the money received. It's better to check several places to find the best rate or bargain and suggest your own rate.

  Here are places at resorts where you can find the best jewelry shop exchange rates:

  • Mui Ne – two jewelry shops at the local market in Mui Ne village.
  • Ho Chi Minh City – many jewelry shops in District 1 tourist area where the Pham Ngu Lao tourist street and Ben Thanh Market are located. We have been exchanging at Kim Mai Jewelry Shop for many years.
  • Nha Trang – jewelry shops near the main Cho Dam market, especially great rates at Kim Vinh store.
  • Hanoi – many jewelry shops in the tourist district on Hang Bac and Ha Trung streets (this street is west of the lake).

  For other resorts and other exchange locations, read our destination guides.

• At airports

  At the main international airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, unlike airports in other countries, the exchange rate isn't extortionate, so you can safely exchange $50-$100 upon arrival at the airport for initial expenses and then find a better rate elsewhere. For example, we compared the rate at Hanoi Airport with exchange in the city; it was about 1.2-1.5% lower.

• In banks

  Banks offer a less favorable rate than street exchange offices and jewelry shops, by about 2-4%. Moreover, some banks even refuse to accept old-style dollars (from our own experience). But if safety concerns you, you can exchange at banks. Almost all bank branches exchange currency, but it's worth checking several to find where the rate is better.

  Banks typically work on weekdays from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, on Saturdays only in the morning from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and are closed on Sundays and holidays. Also, many banks have a lunch break from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM.

• Travel agencies and hotels

  Travel agencies and hotels offer the least favorable exchange rates. Generally, they are not heavily involved in exchange, so it's not a given that the reception at your hotel will offer exchange. Therefore, we recommend relying on this method only as a last resort.

• Private exchangers on Telegram and social media

  This exchange method has gained popularity in recent years due to its convenience, as through exchangers you can directly exchange non-cash rubles, cash dollars, euros, or cryptocurrency for dong. You can find such exchangers by recommendation in thematic chats or simply by searching on Telegram or the internet for phrases like "exchange rubles in Nha Trang," etc. However, there are nuances; read carefully below:

  The exchange scheme is as follows: you contact the exchanger and agree on an exchange, a courier comes to you with cash, you transfer rubles to a Russian bank account, cryptocurrency to a wallet, or hand over cash dollars/euros, and after verification you receive dong cash. There's also a remote exchange option where you go to an ATM and following instructions transfer money and then receive dong cash from the ATM.

  But we are very skeptical of such exchanges and will not recommend them to you. First, the risk of fraud is high, especially when exchanging via ATMs without a courier. But even with a courier, you can fall victim to the old "triangle" scam. Secondly, we have studied the topic of Telegram exchange many times, calculated offered rates, and even tried conducting such exchanges, but ultimately the rate was always noticeably lower than at jewelry shops. Even cash dollars are exchanged by such exchangers at rates up to 5% lower than jewelry shops, and when exchanging non-cash rubles, the instantaneous losses compared to buying cash dollars for rubles and exchanging them for dong are huge.

  Therefore, we recommend using Telegram exchangers only in the most extreme cases, when you find yourself in Vietnam without other ways to get cash.

How to find a favorable currency exchange rate in Vietnam

As we mentioned above, Vietnam is one of the few countries where you can exchange cash currency at a rate higher than the official market rate. Therefore, determining a place with a good rate here is quite easy without visiting many exchange offices.

We have been following a simple algorithm for years when exchanging: we ask the current exchange rate at an exchange office, and if it's higher than the official rate, we exchange; otherwise, we look for another place.

It's easy to find out the current official rate above on this page (you can bookmark this page for convenience), or by searching Google or Yandex for queries like "dollar dong exchange rate"; search engines immediately display it:

Another option, even more convenient than search engines, is to install a currency converter calculator app. These calculators also display the current official rate.

Bank cards in Vietnam - can you use them and which ones work

Using plastic cards in Vietnam is quite common. You can pay with them in almost all shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, and travel agencies. ATMs are found on almost every corner in major cities and tourist areas.

However, if you delve into details, using a plastic card, especially withdrawing cash, is not the most profitable alternative to bringing cash dollars or euros. The reason is that Vietnamese ATMs, in addition to your bank's commission, will charge their own commission, on average about 50,000 dong per transaction (approximately 1.9 USD), and the maximum cash withdrawal amount may be limited (e.g., 2,000,000 dong, which is about $100), the exchange rate conversion will happen at the official rate, plus from a ruble card (if it's Union Pay) there will be double conversion, and all together this yields not a very good result. So try to find an ATM that dispenses larger amounts per transaction and charges a lower commission. Fortunately, there are seas of ATMs from different banks with different conditions here.

As for using cards only for purchases, there are certain pitfalls here as well:

• Vietnam is considered a high-risk country for card use by banks, so your card may be blocked by your own bank's security service.
• They may charge an additional 3-5% commission on top of the amount being paid, even without warning you. This happens when paying by card at hotels, travel agencies, and small private shops, where the owner of the establishment can do whatever they want. No such problems were observed in large shopping malls and supermarkets.
• Cards from Russian banks, given the current political situation, may become non-functional at any moment.

Now let's talk about the current realities of bank cards for Russian tourists:

• Foreign bank cards

  If you have a bank card from a foreign bank, including Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, etc., you can calmly use this card in Vietnam for payments in stores, withdrawing money from ATMs, but considering the restrictions and commissions we mentioned above. Plus, don't forget about the commissions you'll spend on transfers from rubles to the foreign bank and for conversion.

• Mir cards

  Cards from the Russian payment system only work in ATMs and payment terminals of the VRB bank (Vietnam-Russian Bank); all other Vietnamese banks, due to sanctions, do not accept them.

  Unfortunately, the Mir card is not suitable for widespread payment for purchases, as few places accept it. There is a list with addresses of merchant locations on the VRB bank's website where they work, posted here as a PDF file. This list includes store names and addresses, but there is no geographical map showing the location of these stores.

  You can withdraw cash from Mir again only at VRB ATMs, and there aren't many of them; they are only in major cities. Their addresses are again in the list via the link above (on the last page List of MIR card accepting ATM nationwide), but it's much easier to find them on Google Maps with the query VRB ATM VIETNAM, just look carefully, as the map incorrectly highlights some other ATMs too. The conditions are as follows*:

  • You can withdraw up to 2,000,000 or 5,000,000 dong per transaction at VRB (approximately 75.98-190 USD), no commission is charged by VRB bank for two transactions per day.
  • Your Russian bank will also charge a commission for withdrawal at a third-party bank and abroad; the amounts need to be checked in your card's tariff. The commission may not be charged if you have a subscription, premium options, or bank tariffs enabled, or simply due to a bank promotion. Again, all this needs to be checked with the Russian bank that issued the card.
  • Debit occurs at the official Central Bank of Russia rate + commission up to 4.9%*.

  * These tariffs and conversion conditions can change; you can only clarify them with your bank's support and VRB bank, so "surprises" during payment and withdrawal are quite possible. You can follow the news about the Mir card at VRB bank here.

  

  We have tested cash withdrawals at VRB bank ATMs several times and calculated everything, and honestly, the result in terms of rate was not great. And this is even considering that the withdrawal was without commission from the Russian T-Bank, while other banks charge an additional commission on top of that, making cash withdrawal even less profitable. Here is the calculation:

  • Withdrawal of 1,000,000 dong – 3,356 rubles were debited.
  • If you were to exchange these same 3,356 rubles at the same moment through cash dollars, you would end up with 1,084,000 dong, i.e., 8.4% more than from the ATM.

  On one hand, 8.4% doesn't seem like much, and that's true for small amounts, which is suitable for a short vacation with small cash expenses. But if you have a long journey and need a lot of cash, it turns out that with every 10,000 rubles you lose 840 rubles in commissions via the ATM, with 50,000 rubles the loss is already 4,200 rubles, and with 100,000 - 8,400 rubles. But of course, it's up to you to decide.

  We use T-Bank's Mir cards (formerly Tinkoff). This is the only bank that does not charge a commission for cash withdrawals at ATMs in Vietnam. At least, we haven't found other such banks, but if you know any, please share in the comments. From a T-Bank card in Vietnam, you can withdraw up to 100,000 rubles per month completely without commission, then there will be a commission of only 90 rubles per withdrawal. Of course, this applies only to debit cards; credit cards are not very suitable for cash withdrawals. You can apply for a T-Bank card under a promotion via these links and get additional bonuses:

• Union Pay cards from Russian banks

  Among major Russian banks, only one working option for UnionPay cards remains—RSHB (Rosselkhozbank). There's also ATB, but it's not widely represented in regions. All other UnionPay cards issued earlier, including Gazprombank, Russkiy Standart, and Tinkoff, no longer work. However, unlike Mir, UnionPay is accepted much more easily and almost everywhere.

  If you have a card in rubles, then each transaction will involve two conversions to recalculate the rate from dong to yuan and then from yuan to rubles, and accordingly more losses. So it's more profitable to open a card in yuan currency and top it up at the bank's internal rate or even open a brokerage account and buy yuan there with minimal commission and withdraw to the card. We've calculated everything, and it turned out that a yuan card is approximately 2% more profitable than a ruble card when paying for purchases.

  However, don't forget about commissions from the Russian bank for cash withdrawals at third-party ATMs. You can only find this information in the detailed description of the tariff for your specific card, and you also need to consider connected options.

  Attention! Here it's important to understand that even for the same card, different bank customers may have different tariffs and conditions, so you shouldn't rely on the experience of other travelers they share in blogs and chats. In other words, if someone writes that they withdraw money from an RSHB card without commission, that doesn't mean at all that you will have the same. And of course, don't believe advertisements promising "withdrawal without commission," as there are always conditions written in the "fine print."

  For example, at the moment (2025), under the most popular "Svoia Karta" tariff at RSHB, there will be no commission at other banks' ATMs only if your card expenses for the previous month exceeded 30,000 rubles. In other cases, the commission will be 3% of the amount and not less than 17 Chinese yuan for yuan cards, and 1% and not less than 199 for ruble cards. So study the tariffs for your specific card and before each trip, as they can also be changed by banks unilaterally without personal notification.

  Our practice of using a Rosselkhozbank ruble card and precise calculations on it showed that it is inferior to cash exchange. Losses compared to exchange via cash dollars at the same point in time ranged from 4% to 6% when paying by card in stores. And if you withdraw cash from it, then on top of these losses, hefty commissions for cash withdrawals at third-party ATMs and the commission of the Vietnamese ATM will be added. So we recommend using such cards only as a backup option during travel and, if possible, bringing cash dollars or euros with you.

  A card in yuan currency performs much better for payments. If you top it up in the bank app or from a brokerage account within the bank right before a purchase, then losses compared to cash are only 2-4%. However, the yuan card has higher commissions for cash withdrawals, and here it loses to the ruble card.

  Here is a comparison of UnionPay cards as of 2026:

  Tariffs and commissions for UnionPay cards from Russian banks

  Bank and tariff	Card issuance	Card maintenance	Commission for cash withdrawal	Commission for payment at terminals	Link to all conditions
  Rosselkhozbank / Svoya Karta Plus	Free	Free	3% of the amount (minimum 17 yuan) for yuan cards, 1% of the amount (minimum 199 USD) for ruble cards. Free if turnover for the previous month exceeds 30,000 rubles	No commission	All conditions here
  Gazprombank / Universalny (no longer works)	5000 rubles, refundable if conditions are met	Free	450 rubles per transaction	No commission	All conditions here

See More details about ATMs and using plastic cards in Vietnam.

VAT Refund in Vietnam (Vat Refund)

Since July 1, 2012, Vietnam has implemented a VAT refund system (Value Added Tax) for foreigners on goods purchased in the country. A similar tax refund system operates in Thailand (see about VAT refund in Thailand), Singapore, and other popular tourist countries, and is designed to stimulate tourist demand for purchasing goods in the country. The essence of the system is that upon departure from the country, you can refund part of the cost of goods purchased within the country in the amount of the value-added tax included in the price of the goods.

For Vietnam, this amount is 10% of the goods' value. From the amount eligible for refund, an administrative fee of no more than 15% is deducted. The VAT refund in Vietnam applies to each purchase made with a receipt costing from 2,000,000 Vietnamese dong (approximately 75.98 USD). Another condition is that the tax refund is possible only within 30 days after purchasing the goods.

You can get the refund when departing the country (only when leaving the country, not on domestic flights) at Vietnam's international airports (see more about tax refund in Vietnam).

Tipping

There is no official tipping system in Vietnam, and traditionally tipping is not customary here, as communism was being built here not long ago. All tourism sector workers, down to porters, receive a salary (though very small) and do not expect or count on tips, though they will be very happy with a small monetary token of appreciation from tourists.

Whether to tip or not is entirely up to you. If you liked the service, you can leave a small amount. In taxis with meters, you can refuse change, rounding up to thousands of dong (tipping in taxis with a fixed price is out of the question). The same with change at a restaurant or cafe. For room cleaning, porters, you can give 10-15 thousand dong (approximately 0.38 USD).