Country overview

Polymer overview

General information

As of 30.08.06, Vietnam is the 4th country in the world to fully convert to polymer notes.

The State Bank of Vietnam

Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam (Tiềng Việt)

Newspaper article: Cash hungry economy to absorb new coins and notes (2003)

Newspaper article: Economy spurs need for notes (2003)

Newspaper article: Polymer bank note use to expand (2003)

Newspaper article: SBV eyes Australian bank note technology (2003)

Newspaper article: Vietnam introduces new 500,000 Dong bank note (2003)

Newspaper article: Vietnam to replace paper by polymer bank notes (2003)

Press release: Australian technology helps modernise the monetary system of Vietnam (2003)

Newspaper article: More Australian-made bank notes to prevent counterfeits (2004)

Newspaper article: Vietnam to bring out more polymer notes, coins (2005)

Newspaper article: Counterfeit notes detected via banking system reduces dramatically (2007)

Proof notes / Vietnam

Reasons for choosing polymer bank note technology

By M. A. Nguyen Chi Thangh, State Bank of Vietnam (2005).

Polymer bank notes in Vietnam

By M. A. Nguyen Chi Thangh, State Bank of Vietnam (2009).

The State Bank of Vietnam Annual reports: 2005, 2006, 2007.

Dates: The year of issue is given as the first two digits of the serial number (e.g., 03 for 2003).

Replacement bank notes: There is conflicting information about replacement bank notes in Vietnam. According to one source, replacement notes have both prefix letters of the serial number identical (such as AA, BB, CC, DD, etc.). According to another source, replacement notes use a letter A as the second prefix letter (such as AA, BA, CA, DA, etc.). The existence of replacement bank notes (whatever their numbering might be) has not yet been confirmed.

Bank notes

Polymer substrate for the production of S1 bank notes has been delivered to SBVN in 2001. NH prefix has been used on all notes; NH stands for Ngân Hàng.

Specimen notes are presumed not to exist for S1.

Vietnam, 50 Dong, issued in 2001. Issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the State Bank of Vietnam. From 1951 to 1990, the State Bank of Vietnam operated the only banking system within Vietnam, until the government established four independent commercial banks and allowed foreign banks to operate. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right; since the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed in 1945, Ho Chi Minh’s portrait has appeared on virtually all bank note issues. Vietnamese bronze drum, symbolizing 4,000 years of formation and struggle to defend the country, at centre left. Back: Headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam in Hanoi.

Issued on 30.08.06 (officially announced on 15.08.06).

S2R1 and S1R2 bank notes are missing a dot in the number 10000 (it should read 10.000) at upper right on obverse.

Vietnam, 10,000 Dong, issued in 2006. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: Several oilrigs depict a developing economic sector in Vietnam, the petroleum industry. Most of Vietnam's oil and gas production comes from offshore basement reservoirs. Vietnam claims approximately 1 million square kilometers of the continental shelf area, comprising seven major Tertiary basins in the oil and gas-rich South China Sea. In 2006, at the time of the issue of this bank note, Vietnam is the third largest oil producer among the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

Banks call for VND10,000 and VND20,000 polymer notes (2005)

Small face value polymer bank notes to be printed (2005)

Vietnamese banks call for new polymer notes (2005)

Imperfect polymer 10,000 bank notes still valid (2006)

Vietnam bank Governor admits polymer currency errors (2006)

Vietnam issues polymer notes (2006)

Issued on 17.05.06.

Vietnam, 20,000 Dong, issued in 2006. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: Japanese covered bridge over the Thu Bon river in the ancient town of Hoi An in the Quang Nam province. The original bridge has been built by the Japanese in 1593 and survives until this day. It is the only known covered bridge with a Buddhist pagoda attached to one side. Hoi An was a busy international trading port from the 15th to the 19th century and still remains nearly intact with a combination of Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese architecture. Parts of the town have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

Banks call for VND10,000 and VND20,000 polymer notes (2005)

Small face value polymer bank notes to be printed (2005)

Vietnamese banks call for new polymer notes (2005)

Vietnam issues polymer notes (2006)

SBV to issue VND20,000 polymer notes (2006)

Issued on 17.12.03.

Vietnam, 50,000 Dong, issued in 2003. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: Pagoda, one of the pre-eminent architectural structures of Vietnam, as seen in Hue, the strategically-placed old capital of Vietnam. Hue lies between Vietnam's two rice-growing regions, the Red River delta in the north and the Mekong delta in the south. Pagoda, found in every province of Vietnam, is a tower comprised of a series of stepped pyramidal structures—its form symbolizes the human desire to bridge the gap between the constraints of earthly existence and the perfection of heavenly forces.

Fake bank notes found (2005)

Issued on 01.09.04.

A promotional poster (in Vietnamese) by the State Bank of Vietnam.

Vietnam, 100,000 Dong, issued in 2004. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: Van Mieu and Quoc Tu Giam in the centre. Van Mieu or the Temple of literature is dedicated to Confucius and is representative of Confucian ways of thought and behaviour. Founded in 1070, it is the oldest school in Vietnam, giving it the distinction of being the most significant temple in Vietnam. Quoc Tu or the National University, established in 1076, is located next to the Van Mieu temple. Nowadays used as a park, Van Mieu and Quoc Tu served as educational institutions of national significance for over eight centuries.

New 100k notes: plastic fantastic (2004)

200 billion Dong of new polymer notes released (2004)

Bank to issue new polymer money to battle counterfeiters (2004)

Issued on 30.08.06 (officially announced on 15.08.06).

Vietnam, 200,000 Dong, issued in 2006. Front: Ho Chi Minh at right. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: An image from the Ha Long Bay in the Quang Ninh province of North-East Vietnam. Ha Long Bay covers an area of 1,553 square kilometres and comprises 1,969 islands with great biodiversity. A part of this area has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its exceptional natural beauty and significant geomorphic and physiographic features. Ha Long, which literally translates as ”the bay of descending dragons”, has been called ”a wonder of the earth erected towards the high sky” by a famous Vietnamese poet.

Issued on 17.12.03.

Vietnam, 500,000 Dong, issued in 2003. Front: At right, Ho Chi Minh (meaning 'the Enlightener'), real name Nguyen Tat Thanh (1890-1969), the founder of Vietnamese communism, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam after the surrender of Japan in 1945, and the principal force behind the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule, ending in 1954. Admired for his personal qualities of simplicity, integrity, and determination. After the Communist conquest of the South in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnamese Coat of Arms at centre left. Back: Ho Chi Minh’s birth place in Kim Lien village in central Vietnam.