I'm a Brit, travelling from Thailand to Vietnam for songkran. It'll be my first time in Vietnam.

Once in Vietnam, I'm imagining exchanging sterling for Vietnamese dong in the same way that I got baht when I first came to Thailand: I'll either stick one of my UK debit cards in an ATM machine OR I'll take the debit card and my passport along to a bank or currency exchange place.

Will both of these methods work?

One thing I'd like to check. I read this on the TripAdvisor website about ATMs: "The machines in Vietnam use the magnetic strip not chip and pin technology". Will this affect my UK debit cards? (In addition to the chip my cards have a black strip on the back. Is this what TripAdvisor is talking about?)

Thank you for your help.

Yes,both of these methods will work,I've done both.There are a couple of points to be aware of though.1)Some macines don't accept Maestro cards-only Visa.2)If you go into the bank with your card,you will have to enter your PIN into a hand held reader,the advantage of going into the bank is that you can take out whatever your bank allows as a daily limit,a lot of ATM's only allow a maximumof 2M VND,which is only about 60GBP. 3)I think the black strip you mention is the magnetic one-my UK debit cards are like this,and they work fine

Also.don't forget that if going to Vietnam,you must have obtained a visa in advance or a pre-approved visa,there's no visa on arrival

Yes,both of these methods will work,I've done both.There are a couple of points to be aware of though.1)Some macines don't accept Maestro cards-only Visa.2)If you go into the bank with your card,you will have to enter your PIN into a hand held reader,the advantage of going into the bank is that you can take out whatever your bank allows as a daily limit,a lot of ATM's only allow a maximumof 2M VND,which is only about 60GBP. 3)I think the black strip you mention is the magnetic one-my UK debit cards are like this,and they work fine

Also.don't forget that if going to Vietnam,you must have obtained a visa in advance or a pre-approved visa,there's no visa on arrival

Many thanks for all that. Very helpful.

Yes, I have the visa in advance sorted, but thanks for the reminder.

You can also use your Thai ATM card in the VN machines.

I

Hi,

I've lived in Vietnam for over 7 years and feel I know the place quite well.

You can use your card be in chip and pin or whatever at most ATM machines they will have visa/maestro/cirrus/plus displayed.

I would reccomend using vietcom bank at the airport if you need money immediately. This is by the burger king (the only one in Vietnam) as you exit the terminal. However, you can only draw 2 million at a time.

Once in Saigon I would draw from ANZ. In my opinion they are the most reliable and cheaper than HSBC. The bank exchange rates are sh!t so if you want to change cash, go to any gold shop and check the rate. Make sure it is acceptable first though. Should be around 21,000 VND to the dollar. Enjoy!