Using European check card in Vietnam (ATM card)

Hi all,

I plan to spend 4,5 months in Viet Nam.  Can I withdraw money from any bank in Vietnam, using my Italian check card (ATM)?

Thanks a lot.

If it's Visa or MasterCard then yes.. some banks put daily limits on withdrawals but they should all work just fine

Maestro is also available in some ATM mostly in the biggest cities (or at the airport) (Typically city bank, VIB, ...). But it's not as popular as in Thailand or elsewhere in Asia.

But if you want to avoid any trouble, you should bring a visa/mastercard which are accepted everywhere.
You should also verify how much you'll be charge per transaction.

PS: most of the ATM are limited to 2m or 3m per transaction (except few international bank). Meaning you'll have to withdraw multiple time (+ multiple charge) .

luna2000 wrote:

Hi all,

I plan to spend 4,5 months in Viet Nam.  Can I withdraw money from any bank in Vietnam, using my Italian check card (ATM)?

Thanks a lot.


Hi again Luna,

The preceding answers are spot on, especially regarding Maestro.

I did see a German couple trying to use Maestro run into problems in a smaller city (Tam Kỳ) in Vietnam.

If you can find a military Bank (MB bank) the individual transaction limit is 5 million normally.

So when I have big expenditures such as rent and other things , I have been able to use an MB ATM and do four quick transactions of 5 million each for a total of 20 million.

Hard for me to imagine you needing more cash than that at one trip to the ATM, although I know at least one person who will go off topic and tell you exactly why you would need more cash than that... 😉

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

So when I have big expenditures such as rent and other things , I have been able to use an MB ATM and do four quick transactions of 5 million each for a total of 20 million.

Hard for me to imagine you needing more cash than that at one trip to the ATM, although I know at least one person who will go off topic and tell you exactly why you would need more cash than that... 😉


Sorry if you were thinking of me but I agree almost absolutely.   :top:  I am often mystified by people who bemoan ATM limits.   What are they spending the money on?  Perhaps they are wanting to "invest" in what they think are high interest CD's, but even if you hit daily limits you can just take it out on consecutive days.  The only thing that I can think of that could give you cash needs above daily limits might be unforeseen medical expenses.