Most common payment methods in Vietnam

What are the most common payment methods today in Vietnam: cash, debit/credit cards, bank transfers, mobile apps or digital wallets?

I think bank transfer now. Even more popular than cash nowadays.

Is contactless payment (card, phone, smartwatch or via QR code) common and widely accepted?

I am in HCMC which is quite modernized so I use google wallet almost everywhere but once you go to smaller shops or outside of the city QR bank transfer is the most popular.

Is there a popular local payment app that everyone uses?

Any local banking app.

How safe and secure do you feel using digital payments in Vietnam?

Just as safe as cash, not as safe as credit. Scams still happen with bank transfer and its  virtually impossible to get your money back if its an online scam like fake hotel or copycat fake shop. Banks wont do anything and police wont do anything from personal experience. The criminals typically use stolen names and ID cards to open the bank accounts.

Do you still need to carry cash for small shops, markets, taxis or administrative services?

I dont think I have paid with cash in over a year. If you have a local bank account and can make QR payments its accepted pretty much everywhere. I still carry cash though because you never know.

Are there any particularities in payment habits or methods in Vietnam that surprised you?

Its refreshing that tax is almost always included in the price you see. Coming from the US it is such a wonderful surprise.

hello. Withdrawing money from ATM is as any other ATM in the world and as far as your card is permitted to do (amounts, frequency, fees, etc)

POS/Card readers are available in stores sized as the biggest pharmacies. However, taxis, fruit sellers in the streets, big malls, every body use QR codes for collecting payments. Money papers is also 100% accepted (not like in China)

here the locals love ewallets MOMO, ZALOPAY and VNPAY. Very useful indeed. However new state regulations obligates users to pair the chips in their plastic citizen cards. Therefore, it is no longer worthy for expats.

therefore, unfortunately, short term visitors and tourist have no other payment options than Cards and money paper.

If you have a local bank accout, the mobile app of the bank is pretty enough for payments.

@Cheryl

I use mureta app. Many local small vendors have a QR code and Marita uses that QR code for payment. Try it. I’d also like to know if anyone else has a different app that uses a QR code thank you.

Not sure if I qualify as a Luddite, or as a fossil.

I withdraw from an ATM, and use cash exclusively.

Cash is cumbersome. 100,000 vnd is only 4 dollars

@Aidan in HCMC

hey old man, I think you are most a MoneySaver because: My comment regardin Apps for payment was more about the total cost to extract money from your Bank Account for every single payment, this is: where is the App's headquarters located and the country of your Savings?  MoretaPay is located in EEUU, so consider the international fee from your country to EEUU + international fee from EEUU to Vietnam + the fee of using the service.

Using the eWallets funcionalities are a little bit cheaper because you can topup some big ammount into the App,

Vietnam based apps (momo, zalopay, vnpay, etc) since 2025 is useless for foreigners since them ask for a VietnameseIDnumber.

Therefore, for tourists, the ATM is the more convenient method

@Cheryl

The most common option is your local bank app, if you have one. You can register with your local bank if you have a 3-month visa and enjoy the mobile banking QR code scanning feature. If you don't have a local bank, withdraw money via Agribank (max withdrawal is 3 million VND) and use cash. Some bigger shops/vendors accept cards, but the best choice is either a local bank app on your phone or cash. If anyone has any other better experience/suggestion, I would be eager to hear it as well!

Not sure if I qualify as a Luddite, or as a fossil.
I withdraw from an ATM, and use cash exclusively. - @Aidan in HCMC

Mostly because of US banking regulations and weirdnesses, I also pay almost everything here in HCMC in cash. And thus, I visit my friendly, neighborhood ATMs as the need arises.

At big, corporate vendors (especially), I pay with a credit card because I get airline miles that way. For local, mom-and-pop (especially), and most anything that's not an exchange with a chain store situation, I pay cash.

When I pay, I often say, "Do you take cash?" This almost always produces a smile (and is therefore worth it) and nobody has ever said, "No." LOL

It's not that I'm a Luddite (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddites), resistant or even violently opposed to technological change,  it's that between the credit card company (*cough* One) and the bank (*cough* Chuckie [cotton] Swab), I pretty much *have* to do what I'm doing. And so, I'm okay with it all for now.

Vietnam has been characterized as the "Land of Work-Arounds" and this is my work-around; completely successful so far. 😃

Cash is cumbersome. 100,000 vnd is only 4 dollars - @Rosechait

A heavy burden I'm willing to bear.

Cash is cumbersome. 100,000 vnd is only 4 dollars - @Rosechait
A heavy burden I'm willing to bear. - @Aidan in HCMC

Me, too. I carry around a large wad of cash clipped with a binder clip. Works like a charm. Usually no more than 5 - 10 million đong. A not-too-heavy burden. . . 

Young people don’t want to carry cash.

in the city in restaurants you can use Apple pay. I keep one 500,000 vnd in my wallet for small venndors

@Rosechait

Hello, please, just a question to update my experiences: I knew that you can pay with ApplePay via proximity to POS readers (the device to pay with cards in stores), but how about to scan the QR that every seller in Vietnam uses (from big stores up to tiny sellers of Bánh Mì on the streets) ? Could you please confirm that ApplePay can read those VietQR for payments?

Thanks in advance for that info.

@Rosechait

Except when you go to Circle K at 8 am for a little shop they just DO NOT have the change on a VND 50O OOO banknote.

It happened to us just this morning.

So we do carry small denomination like 10 or 20K...

Senior banking official told me he’s stashing cash in case artificial intelligence crashes the financial system: ALEX BRUMMER

(Link, dailymail.com)

@Rosechait
Except when you go to Circle K at 8 am for a little shop they just DO NOT have the change on a VND 50O OOO banknote.
It happened to us just this morning.
So we do carry small denomination like 10 or 20K... - @rogergarinmichaud

Many of my favorite Circle K stores closed during COVID. I used to like to use my Discover credit card there: no foreign transaction fee and mid-market exchange rate. Discover isn't widely accepted elsewhere in Vietnam

@OceanBeach92107

I have now a Wise debit card on order but don't know if that is widely accepted in Vietnam.

Any one has any input on that ?

@OceanBeach92107
I have now a Wise debit card on order but don't know if that is widely accepted in Vietnam.
Any one has any input on that ? - @rogergarinmichaud

Here in TP HCM, I have used it uninterruptedly for almost two years at ATMs. Some ATMs won't give money (like sometimes Vietcom Bank, and Public Bank) but for the most part (HSBC, BIDV, VP Bank) no problem. I've never used it at a merchant for a purchase -- only cash at ATMs.

@OceanBeach92107
I have now a Wise debit card on order but don't know if that is widely accepted in Vietnam.
Any one has any input on that ? - @rogergarinmichaud

I hear good things about it for getting money into Vietnam.

I know it's absolutely impossible to use it to get money out of Vietnam

@rogergarinmichaud

It depends on where the card was issued. If you got it in France then I am not 100% sure but I hear cards from the EU are accepted in Vietnam all over including ATMs. I had a wise card issued from the US and it did not work at all in Vietnam. It worked everywhere else including Singapore, Thailand, S Korea and Japan but not Vietnam for some reason.

My Wise card didn't work in Vietnam ATM, but it does in Thailand and they pay me back for the ATM charges. But I use it to send money to my family in Vietnam, sometimes posted in minutes to their account.  Even when I use it for purchases inn Thailand and they charge  3% 'tax'  They just contacted me and asked what was that charge - I explained 'almost every entity charges 3% just  for using a credit card', he said "Okay, we'll reimburse it"   Cheers

@rogergarinmichaud
It depends on where the card was issued. If you got it in France then I am not 100% sure but I hear cards from the EU are accepted in Vietnam all over including ATMs. I had a wise card issued from the US and it did not work at all in Vietnam. It worked everywhere else including Singapore, Thailand, S Korea and Japan but not Vietnam for some reason. - @jrharvey

My Wise card didn't work in Vietnam  until I selected "Savings" as the account from which the withdrawals were to occur. 🤷‍♂️

Cash or card is usually faster than Vietnamese paying with their phones.  When I  see them fumbling with their phones for minutes to make a payment of 20000 dong, less than a $, which happens quite often, I am close to screaming.

It's not about convenience and speed, at least not yet, not until they have streamlined the system, it's about their fascination with playing around with their devices.

I try and use my International Visa Card. Please  beware several businesses are attempting to add a 3% additional charge for the Visa card. This is BS, ask upfront and check receipt. This is not allowed by Visa and tell them you will report this to Visa.

Cedit Card Charges in Vietnam

Overview of Charges

In Vietnam, businesses face a 3% charge for credit card transactions. However, according to Visa regulations, they are prohibited from passing this fee onto customers. This means that when you use a credit card, you should not be charged an additional fee for the transaction itself.

Cash or card is usually faster than Vietnamese paying with their phones. When I see them fumbling with their phones for minutes to make a payment of 20000 dong, less than a $, which happens quite often, I am close to screaming.
It's not about convenience and speed, at least not yet, not until they have streamlined the system, it's about their fascination with playing around with their devices. - @thecyclist

This is because most banking apps make you go through multiple advertisements and steps just to get to the QR screen. They dont make it easy at all. For me going through my Vietcombank app I have to log in, exit out of 2 pop up ads then click the QR button, scan the QR, Type in the money amount, confirm the transaction, click send an otp, open text app and copy the otp, paste in back into vietcombank and confirm and then its all done. Oh and they have to take a picture. All of that for a tiny transaction LOL. Its so inefficient but I hate carrying cash.