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ATMs are the easiest way to get cash in Vietnam, which you can do with your regular bank card from home (the PIN number and everything is the same as normal). In major cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, etc., you can find these machines in pretty much every block in the central areas. ATMs are all owned and run by the banks, and in major cities banks will have lots of ATMs located both at and outside of their branches for wide access. In smaller towns though, ATMs will usually be at bank branches and you may have to go to the town centers to find them
- ATMs are a pretty expensive way to get money in Vietnam. The cheapest is definitely to bring cash and exchange it at one of the gold shops in the country. But the convenience is hard to beat so it’s still one of the best ways to get cash in Vietnam
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Which bank cards can be used on Vietnamese ATMs?
- Most ATMs in Vietnam are on the PLUS network, which is operated by Visa. The majority of bank cards issued in the US and Canada are compatible with PLUS. If your bank card has this logo on its back it’s good to go:
- If your card is not on PLUS, it’s likely on Cirrus (this is the logo), which is the network operated by MasterCard. It’s less common in Vietnam and the banks whose ATMs accept Cirrus cards include VietcomBank and CitiBank
- (Even though PLUS and Cirrus are operated by Visa and MasterCard, they are networks for bank cards, not credit cards. So when you withdraw cash from these ATMs, use your regular bank card and not your credit card)
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Withdrawal fees and limit:
- ATMs in Vietnam charge a 22,000-99,000 VND ($1-$4.3USD) fee per withdrawal, meaning you pay this much every time you make a withdrawal regardless of the amount being withdrawn, so it makes sense to take out as much as you can.
- However, all ATMs impose a maximum withdrawal limit, mostly ranging from 2,000,000-3,000,000 VND ($85-$130USD). The maximum limit is per withdrawal, meaning you can withdraw as many times as you want, but this is the limit that you can withdraw each time. Your own bank will usually impose some sort of daily withdraw limit as well, so when you hit that limit you won’t be able to take any more cash for the remainder of that day
- Which ATMs are the best to use in Vietnam depends on their fees, withdrawal limit,a and location. Here are some specific ATM fees and limits for major banks in Vietnam, ordered from least expensive to most expensive. These fees do change from time to time so please only use this as a rough guide:
- TPBank: no fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (0%)
- Eximbank: no fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (0%)
- Agribank: 22,000 VND fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (0.7%)
- Citibank: 60,000 VND fee and 8,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal. Free for Citibank customers (0.8%)
- Sacombank: 30,000 VND fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (1%)
- MB Bank: 33,000 VND fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (1.1%)
- ACB: 55,000 VND fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (1.8%)
- HSBC: 160,000 VND fee and 8,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (2%)
- VietcomBank: 50,000 VND fee and 2,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (2.5%)
- VietinBank: 55,000 VND fee and 2,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (2.8%)
- Techcombank: 66,000 VND fee and 2,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (3.3%)
- BIDV: 99,000 VND fee and 3,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (3.3%)
- VietBank: 160,000 VND fee and 2,000,000 VND maximum per withdrawal (8%)
- Also, keep in mind that on top of the ATM fees, depending on what banking package you have, your own bank will also charge you an international withdrawal fee as well. This amount ranges and for me it’s $5USD, but it can be as high as $10-$15. Again, check with your bank to see if you’re going to be charged for making overseas ATM withdrawals
- Most ATMs will ask you if you want to convert to your home currency first before making the withdrawal. Always choose no for this. This is called Dynamic Currency Conversion and is a major ripoff and will cost you $5-$10 USD if you use it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_currency_conversion)
