Vietnam: currency, its value and exchange

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

More and more countries are becoming available to our compatriot tourists. Exotics are still of interest to those for whom Crimea or, say, Arkhyz used to be the most unusual. And it is not surprising that the countries of Asia and the East attract unspoiled Russians and residents of the CIS with their bright and unusual way of life, peculiar customs - all that is called the word "exotic". Vietnam has recently occupied a significant place in the list of these states. Its monetary unit, accordingly, has become interesting to a large number of those who want to visit this country.

A bit of history

The name of the native currency of this state comes from the metal from which Vietnam dongs were originally made. As a result, the monetary unit is called a word, sounding very similar to "bronze" or "copper". And it first appeared in 1947 in North Vietnam, and in 1955 in South Vietnam. When Saigon fell in 1975,the South Vietnamese dong began to be called free, and in 1978 the dongs of the North and South united, and the banknote became common to all parts of the country.

Value and convertibility

Dong is the smallest and also non-convertible currency. Initially, like, say, the ruble, it consisted of smaller denominations - 10 hao or 100 su. Now, however, the dong has fallen in price so much that such small banknotes simply do not exist. Among many other countries, Vietnam suffered from inflation. Its monetary unit is now in the thousands, but it costs little. So, in order to convert dongs into rubles, thousands of them must be multiplied by one and a half. And, for example, the North American dollar costs more than 21 thousand dong. In connection with such an abundance of zeros on banknotes, the smallest one is only a hundred, and there are also 500 thousand. There are still coins worth from 200 to 5 thousand dong, but this is already a rarity. It will come across during a trip to Vietnam - it’s not worth lowering, you see, you can sell it to some numismatist, and much more than the face value.

How to pay when traveling

Since it is not possible to buy dongs in Russian exchanges (we remind you that it is not convertible), you will have to take dollars with you on the road. There is no country more friendly to them than Vietnam! The monetary unit of the States will be willingly exchanged for dongs practically everywhere, it is only worth considering the incredulity of the local population and getting clean, whole and relatively new banknotes. Moreover, it is a very common practice to take bucks, and give changedongs. The monetary unit of modern Vietnam is also readily exchanged by its inhabitants for yen, baht, yuan and the euro, although preference is still given to the dollar. The main thing is not to forget to declare the imported money at customs, otherwise you may not be able to take the “change” out of the country.

Where is the best place to change

The safest places are hotels, the airport and exchange offices. It is obligatory to recalculate what you have received everywhere: they will not hesitate to cheat! Experienced travelers are advised to ask how much the monetary unit of Vietnam is, in jewelry stores, they say the exchange rate is better there.

Bank cards

It is more convenient for many people to pay their expenses with a plastic card instead of cash. If you belong to this category, check with the bank that issued this means of payment whether it will work in Vietnam and how much they will charge for the service. It is worth considering that at an ATM there you can get money, but only in the form of dongs, and 10% will be charged for service.