How to exchange currency and withdraw cash in Hanoi, Vietnam (which foreign cards work at ATMs)?

You can open a local bank account in Vietnam with just a foreign passport — banks like Vietcombank or VPBank issue a VND card that's handy for local payments and transfers.

As an alternative to opening a local account, virtual cards like Wise or Revolut, topped up from abroad, are accepted in many places around Hanoi.

Russian MIR cards don't work at Hanoi ATMs — they've been unsupported by local banks since 2022.

A working option is UnionPay cards issued by Russian banks — they're accepted at ATMs of major banks like Vietcombank, BIDV, and Agribank.

The best currency exchange rate in Hanoi isn't at banks or malls — it's at gold/jewelry shops (tiệm vàng); many are concentrated on Ha Trung street in the Old Quarter.

You can also exchange currency at shopping malls, but the rate is noticeably worse than at jewelry shops — fine only for small amounts.