Banks and currency

Money:
The official currency in Vietnam is Dong. The Dong is non-convertible and at the time of writing trades at approximately 16,000 to USD1. 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 require presentation of passport . There is normally a 2 to 5 percent transaction fee for cashing Travelers checks. Visa and Master card are becoming more accepted in many of the bigger hotels and restaurants, especially in the larger cities.

Make sure that the Vietnamese notes you receive are not torn, this because many shops and restaurants will not accept them. Also try not to change too much money at one time, as you will end up with a large wad of notes. The largest denomination is currently 500,000 dong (approx. US$ 33). The government introduced new 500,000; 50,000, 20,000 and newly arrived, a 10,000 note made from plastic (like Australian dollars), rather than the regular paper notes. Be careful, the 20,000 notes look slightly different from the 500,000 one but the value is a big gap.

In 2004 Vietnam introduced coins for smaller transactions. These are in the form of 200; 1,000 and 5,000 Dong. Other paper denominations include 2,000; 5,000; 10,000 and 20,000. Most are clearly identifiable by color.

When you agreeing prices with Taxi drivers or shops, try to agree the price in the currency you intend to pay with (Dong or US Dollars) to save arguments later about the exchange rate you were expecting.  While most will use a rate of 16,000VND to the dollar, some do try to argue differently.  Always double check the conversion rate you have been offered.

Also with such high denominations of note, be careful of common scams run by street sellers where you are short changed by a factor of ten (eg as part of your change, you may receive five 200 dong notes as "10,000 VND!) 

Banking:
There are a number of international banks operating in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with 24hour cash withdrawal facilities, including ANZ Bank in Hanoi and the HSBC in Ho Chi Minh City. Here cash can be withdrawn on Visa and Master cards as well as other cards such as Cirrus.

Withdraw cash advance through ATM: Under VNese law, ATM may only dispense cash in Vietnamese Dong.

ANZ and Vietcombank ATMs enables you to withdraw cash from VISA, MASTER CARD, CIRRUS, PLUS, MAESTRO, JCB, DINNER CLUB through its network, 24 hours per day.

While traveler's checks have become somewhat obsolete in many places due to the advent of ATM's, in Vietnam they are quite useful.  You can cash U.S. dollar checks at  banks in Hanoi (don't know about elsewhere) for a 1.25-1.5% charge.  This is no more expensive than using an ATM, once you figure in bank fees.  Note that using travelers checks is most useful if you can buy your checks without a commission, which some banks and other organizations (the AAA in the US., for example) offer their customers.