The official currency, the Vietnamese Dong, is non-convertible and is currently at about 21,000 (Mar. 2012) VND to 1 USD. 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, restaurants, and shops.

There are also a small number of international banks now operating in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. There are also many 24-hour ATM machines now all over Vietnam. The ANZ machines work with all cards and give the highest widrawl amounts.

(*) When changing money you may find that your UDS will not be accepted if it is not crisp and clean. One hundred dollar bills also offer a slightly higher rate.