Bank account and card in Vietnam

People have opened an account here on nothing but a visa-free entry stamp. The card comes with a 90-day e-visa — checked in Nha Trang in September 2026. The bank's own site still demands a year of residence; the counter ignores it.

Same story with the account: people got one on a 45-day stamp. Cards are issued on an e-visa. Downtown branches say yes more readily than suburban ones.

The account opens in the app on a passport in about ten minutes. No plastic at all and transfers are capped — but it is enough to pay by QR.

The card takes about ten days, but one branch agrees while the next turns down the same papers.

Pure lottery. Some branches issue on a tourist visa, others insist on a year-long one. Central branches in the big cities are your best bet.

The easiest counter to deal with: English app, LiveBank self-service machines. Their own rules ask for a passport and a visa, nothing more. On a 90-day visa the card works out for roughly one person in three.

Their document list is a passport, a visa and an address in Vietnam — not a word about a year. Some branches accommodate tourists, but do not count on it in advance.

An account needs a passport and a valid visa, any length — that is what their current FAQ says. Older pages about the card still show the 360-day rule, which no longer exists.

Listed among the banks that still take foreigners on a short visa, but nobody has confirmed it to us first-hand. Worth a try if you are passing by, not worth a trip across town.

The strictest on paper: asks for a year of residence and even a letter from your embassy. Some branches reportedly look the other way, but nobody confirmed that to us.

Foreigners are served at the counter only, never online. All through 2026 people report short visas being turned away. With a residence card there is no problem.

Happy to work with foreigners, but wants a residence document and noticeably more money on the account to open it.