Ho Chi Minh City - Post Report Question and Answers
Are credit cards widely accepted and safe to use locally? Are ATMs common and do you recommend using them? Are they safe to use?
Credit cards are easy to use at many places, but I always have cash on me for local places. Many local vendors prefer money transfers to credit card which you can’t do unless you have a local bank account. It’s best to get cash from the office cashier. I do not trust the ATMs as sometimes they “eat” your card and you have to wait until the bank is open to get it back. - Jul 2024
CC are widely used, safely. ATMs are also available and safe to use. - Sep 2021
Still mostly a cash-based economy, but the government wants to change that. Many merchants charge a 3% surcharge for credit cards. ATMs are common. Fraud is a persistent problem, so it’s safest to use one inside a bank. - Jul 2019
ATMs and cash cards are widely used - I prefer cash as I have had some difficulties using debit cards with retailers - credit cards area easier. - Mar 2016
We choose to use cash (Vietnamese Dong) as much as we can here to avoid the overseas fees, but most places do take credit cards. There are many ATMs around. - Aug 2015
We use a few of the trusted ATM machines and credit cards at some of the more established places. However, we try to use cash whenever possible to avoid anyone swiping our credit card details. - May 2014
Most people want cash, they charge extra fees if you use a card. I doubt the security of anything having to do with electronics here. - Jul 2011
Never use them, always cash. Very tricky here need to be careful, a lot of fraud and stealing. - Sep 2010
Fine - I use them all the time. You can get a debit card and use it, so no need to carry loads of cash. - Nov 2009
ATMs are okay, credit cards are okay at larger establishments. I used my ATM card every week and never had a problem. - Dec 2008
