ATMs in Vietnam charge a local fee of roughly 22,000-66,000 VND (~$0.85-$2.50 USD) per withdrawal in 2026, plus whatever your own bank adds. Most machines cap one withdrawal at 2-10 million VND. VPBank and ACB add no local fee, and VPBank allows the most at 10,000,000 VND. Withdraw once, withdraw big, and always choose to be charged in VND.
Vietnam in 2026 is a country halfway through a switch from cash to QR codes, and travellers land in the awkward gap between the two. Locals pay for a bowl of pho by scanning a code. Visitors mostly cannot use that system, so they still need notes in their pocket, and that means using ATMs in Vietnam properly instead of paying a fee three times a day.
This is what our airport and city teams tell guests, updated for September 2026. All USD figures use a rate of about 26,100 VND to the dollar, checked on 7 September 2026.
What Do ATMs in Vietnam Charge in 2026?
Every withdrawal carries two separate charges, and travellers usually only notice the first one.
- The Vietnamese bank fee – charged by the machine you are standing at, shown on screen before you confirm.
- Your home bank fee – a foreign-ATM charge plus a currency conversion margin, usually 1-3%, which lands on your statement days later.
Typical local fees at ATMs in Vietnam, checked September 2026:
| Bank | Fee per withdrawal | Worth using? |
|---|---|---|
| VPBank | No local fee | No fee and the highest limit – look for this one first |
| ACB | No local fee | No fee, but a lower per-transaction cap |
| Agribank | About 22,000 VND (~$0.84 USD) | Lowest fee of the fee-charging banks; huge rural network |
| Sacombank | About 30,000 VND (~$1.15 USD) | Fine as a backup |
| MB Bank | About 49,000 VND (~$1.88 USD) | Only if nothing else is nearby |
| Vietcombank / VIB | About 50,000 VND (~$1.92 USD) | Everywhere, but you pay for it |
| VietinBank | About 55,000 VND (~$2.11 USD) | Only if nothing else is nearby |
| TPBank | Percentage-based | Was free until mid-2025 and older guides still say so. It is not. |
| BIDV, HSBC | Around 3-3.5% of the amount | Expensive on a large withdrawal |
The TPBank change is the one that catches people out. It was the traveller favourite for years, dropped its free-withdrawal policy in mid-2025, and now charges a percentage. Plenty of blog posts have not caught up.
How Much Can You Withdraw at One Time?
Limits are set per machine, not per card, and this is where the fee maths gets decided.
| Bank | Max per transaction |
|---|---|
| VPBank | 10,000,000 VND (~$383 USD) |
| Agribank | 6,000,000 VND (~$230 USD) |
| Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, MB Bank, TPBank | 5,000,000 VND (~$192 USD) |
| ACB | 3,000,000 VND (~$115 USD) |
So a VPBank machine hands you 10,000,000 VND for no local fee, while a VietinBank machine gives you half that and charges 55,000 VND for it. If you find a VPBank ATM on day one, take out enough for several days.
Your own bank may also cap your daily total, and that cap is in your home currency. Check it before you fly.
Which Cards Work at ATMs in Vietnam?
Every ATM lists its accepted networks on the card slot or the screen surround. Read it before you insert anything: a card the machine does not recognise can be retained, and getting it back means visiting that bank branch during office hours.
- Visa and Mastercard – accepted essentially everywhere.
- JCB and UnionPay – widely accepted at major bank ATMs.
- American Express – patchy. Carry a second card.
- Maestro and Cirrus – occasional. Do not rely on it.
Use a debit card, not a credit card, at ATMs in Vietnam. A credit card withdrawal is treated as a cash advance: interest starts the same day and there is no grace period.
Cash, Card or QR: What Works Where in 2026?
This is the part that has genuinely changed since the older versions of this guide.
| Where you are | What works |
|---|---|
| Street food stalls, wet markets, xe om, small cafes | Cash. Bring small notes. |
| Convenience stores, chain cafes, supermarkets | Card (contactless usually fine) or cash |
| Hotels, malls, restaurants aimed at visitors | Card, sometimes with a 2-3% surcharge |
| Grab, ride-hailing, food delivery | In-app card, or cash to the driver |
| Metro and buses | Cash at the machine or a contactless card |
VietQR, the code taped to every counter in the country, runs bank-to-bank inside Vietnam. Most visitors cannot pay into it from a foreign banking app. There are workarounds: MoMo, VNPAY and LocalPay all let you register with a passport and link an international Visa or Mastercard. None of them removes the need for a few hundred thousand dong in your pocket.
Contactless tap-to-pay is now normal in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang at modern terminals. It is not normal at the places you will actually want to eat.
For a sense of what any of this buys you, our breakdown of what a day in Ho Chi Minh City costs and what food costs per day both use current 2026 prices.
Where Else Can You Get Cash?
ATMs in Vietnam are not the only option. Three alternatives, in the order we recommend them.
- Gold and jewellery shops – the traditional exchange counters, usually the best rate in the city, and legal for the traveller. Ha Tam on Le Thanh Ton in District 1 is the long-standing Saigon name. Count the notes before you walk away.
- Bank counters – safest and fully receipted, slightly worse rate, and you need your passport. Open roughly 8am-4pm on weekdays.
- Airport exchange desks – the worst rate of the three. Change $50 USD to get you into town and no more. Our step-by-step guide to arriving at Tan Son Nhat covers where the desks and ATMs actually are.
Bring clean, unmarked, recent US dollar notes if you plan to exchange cash. Torn or heavily creased bills get refused or discounted.
Eight Rules That Save Money at ATMs in Vietnam
- Always choose to be charged in VND. The screen will offer to convert to your home currency. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is poor. Decline it every time.
- Withdraw big, withdraw rarely. The fee is per transaction, not per dong.
- Look for VPBank first. No local fee, 10,000,000 VND per transaction.
- Use machines attached to a bank branch, in daylight, ideally the indoor lobby ones. If the card is retained you can walk inside and ask.
- Break big notes early. ATMs dispense 500,000 VND notes. A banh mi seller cannot change one. Buy something at a Circle K or WinMart to get smaller notes.
- Check the 500,000 and 20,000 notes. Both are blue polymer and similar in size. Tired travellers hand over the wrong one constantly.
- Tell your bank you are travelling, or the first withdrawal gets blocked as fraud.
- Keep a second card somewhere else. Not in the same bag, not in the same pocket.
Vietnam is a safe place to carry cash. See our honest take on whether Vietnam is safe for travellers and the safest districts to base yourself in. The one real risk in central Saigon is bag-snatching from a passing motorbike, so withdraw, put it away, then walk.
How Much Cash Do You Actually Need in Saigon?
A rough day in Ho Chi Minh City at September 2026 prices:
| Item | Cash needed |
|---|---|
| Street breakfast and iced coffee | 60,000-100,000 VND (~$2.30-$3.83 USD) |
| Metro or bus across town | 7,000-20,000 VND (~$0.27-$0.77 USD) per ride |
| Grab bike, short hop | 15,000-30,000 VND (~$0.57-$1.15 USD) |
| Museum entry (War Remnants, Independence Palace) | 40,000 VND (~$1.53 USD) each |
| Lunch at a local place | 50,000-90,000 VND (~$1.92-$3.45 USD) |
Call it 500,000-800,000 VND (~$19-$31 USD) a day for a normal day of eating and moving around, before hotels and tours. One 2,000,000 VND withdrawal covers three or four days. If you want the transport side in detail, getting around Saigon and the Ho Chi Minh City metro guide both list current fares.
You Do Not Need Cash Before You Arrive
One thing worth knowing before you start hunting for one of the ATMs in Vietnam at the airport: our tours are book now, pay later. You reserve a seat, you ride, and you hand over cash at the end – so a delayed bag or a dead ATM at arrivals costs you nothing.
The Saigon City Tour ($45 USD), the Saigon Food Tour ($59 USD) and the Saigon By Night tour ($39 USD) all include entrance fees, food and drinks. The only cash you carry is whatever you feel like spending on yourself. All three are ridden by our own team of women drivers.
FAQ: ATMs in Vietnam
Which ATMs in Vietnam Have No Fee for Foreign Cards?
VPBank and ACB currently add no local withdrawal fee for foreign cards. VPBank allows up to 10,000,000 VND per transaction, ACB up to 3,000,000 VND. TPBank was free until mid-2025 and no longer is. Your own bank may still charge you separately. Checked September 2026.
How Much Do ATMs in Vietnam Charge?
Roughly 22,000-66,000 VND (~$0.85-$2.50 USD) per withdrawal, with 30,000-55,000 VND the normal range. BIDV and HSBC charge a percentage instead, around 3-3.5%, which gets expensive on a large withdrawal.
What Is the Maximum I Can Withdraw at One Time?
Between 2,000,000 and 10,000,000 VND depending on the machine. VPBank is the highest at 10,000,000 VND, about $383 USD.
Should I Bring US Dollars to Vietnam?
Bring a few hundred dollars in clean notes as a backup and for a better rate at gold shops, but pay for everything in dong. Prices quoted to tourists in dollars are usually rounded up.
Can I Use QR Codes to Pay in Vietnam as a Tourist?
Mostly no. VietQR is a domestic bank-to-bank system. Apps such as MoMo, VNPAY and LocalPay let visitors register with a passport and link an international card, but cash is still what works at street stalls and markets.
Is It Better to Use Cash or Card in Vietnam?
Card in hotels, malls and chain restaurants; cash everywhere else. Wise has a good breakdown of the trade-off if you want the banking detail.
Do ATMs in Vietnam Ever Run Out of Cash?
Yes, particularly during Tet and on the first days of long public holidays. Withdraw before a holiday weekend, not during one.
Written by the KissTour team in Ho Chi Minh City. Fees, limits and the 26,100 VND exchange rate were checked on 7 September 2026 – confirm the number on the ATM screen before you confirm the withdrawal.
