Banking in Vietnam for Retirees

The short version

A Vietnamese bank account makes daily life easier and lets Social Security pay you in Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam tightened identity rules in 2025 and 2026; here is what they mean for you.

Opening an account

A foreigner opens a payment account with a passport. A foreigner living in Vietnam must also show a Vietnamese visa, a document that replaces one, or proof of visa exemption, such as a visa-exemption certificate (ask the bank to confirm it accepts yours). ^{1 4}

At the counter, the bank must meet you in person and match your face to the photo on your passport. ¹

Vietnamese citizens (if you hold Vietnamese nationality, the bank may treat you as one) must use a citizen ID card (căn cước công dân), a căn cước card or the electronic ID; a passport is not on the list. ¹

From 1 March 2026 the account name must follow the full name on your ID document. ¹

Banks can ask for more than these papers, so ask each bank what it needs from someone on your visa.

Your phone and the bank app

If you sign up for a bank's app, the bank must check that the phone number is registered to the same person as your ID. ¹ Get a Vietnamese SIM in your own name; see Phone & eSIM.

Withdrawals and electronic payments are allowed only after the bank has matched your ID and your face; this rule took effect for personal accounts on 1 January 2025. For a foreigner without a Vietnamese electronic ID, the bank collects your face data in person. ⁴ Cash withdrawals with a physical card at an ATM are exempt from this rule. ¹

The State Bank said in 2024 that, from 1 July 2024, a personal online transfer over 10 million dong, or over 20 million dong in a day, needs a face check (Decision 2345). ³ Your bank app tells you when a check is needed.

Social Security into a Vietnamese account

SSA can pay U.S. citizens living in Vietnam. ⁵ Vietnam is on SSA's International Direct Deposit list, so benefits can be paid straight into an account at a bank in Vietnam. ²

Vietnamese citizens who are not U.S. citizens cannot receive benefits after being outside the U.S. for more than 6 calendar months in a row, unless they meet another exception. ⁵

Moving and reporting money

Money that overseas Vietnamese send to relatives in Vietnam is free of Vietnamese income tax; keep papers that show where it came from. ⁶

If your accounts outside the U.S. are worth more than $10,000 in total at any time in the year, you generally must file an FBAR with FinCEN. ⁷

Before you go, ask your U.S. bank about its foreign ATM and currency-conversion fees, and read any fee a Vietnamese ATM shows before you confirm.