The official currency, the Vietnamese Dong, is non-convertible and is
currently at about 19,000 (Dec. 2009) dong to USD 1. The US dollar,
preferably crisp clean bills, is widely accepted among major shops and
restaurants. Travelers checks can be cashed at authorized foreign
exchange outlets and banks, and always require presentation of
passport. There is normally a 2 to 5 percent transaction fee for
cashing travelers’ checks. Visa and Mastercard are accepted in some of
the bigger hotels and restaurants.
There are also a small number of international banks now operating in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. There are now many 24-hour ATM machines now all over Vietnam. The ANZ machines work with all cards.
