Bank account or card blocked in Vietnam: what to do in 2026

Below is how to tell which one you've hit, what to bring and how long it takes. If you don't have a local account yet, start with our guide to opening a bank account in Vietnam.

What's blocked, and why

When your card or bank account is blocked in Vietnam, first work out what exactly stopped: one card, online payments in the app, or the whole account. That points to the cause and to where you need to go. Under Thông tư 17/2024/TT-NHNN the bank must warn you 30 days before your documents expire and notify you when it freezes an account, so start with your SMS, email and app notifications.

If you can't tell which it is, call the bank. Under Thông tư 18/2024/TT-NHNN every card issuer runs a 24/7 hotline. Numbers for five big banks are in the lost-card section.

ATM swallowed your card, or wrong PIN

If an ATM swallowed your card or you got the PIN wrong, only the card stops working and the account stays open. Techcombank spells out the PIN rule.

Nếu nhập sai mã PIN quá 3 lần, khách hàng sẽ không thể giao dịch bằng thẻ ATM (If you enter the wrong PIN more than three times, you won't be able to use the card at an ATM)Techcombank, November 2026, translated by VietnamSpot

Only the bank can unlock the card. A forgotten PIN is reissued at a branch; Techcombank also lets you set a new one in the Techcombank Mobile app. VPBank's advice: if the ATM has already said "wrong PIN" twice, don't try a third time. Take the card and sort it out at the bank.

If the ATM keeps your card:

1. Don't walk away yet. VPBank suggests pressing other buttons and waiting. Treat the card as retained only if it never comes out.
2. Call the hotline of the bank that owns the ATM. If the card is from a different bank, call your own bank too and block it.
3. If a branch is nearby and open, report it there. According to VPBank, you get the card back 1–3 working days after reporting.
4. Until then, withdraw at a branch with your passport, or use cardless withdrawal by code or QR in the app if your bank offers it.

Visa, passport or residence card expired

If your passport, visa or temporary residence card has expired and the bank hasn't seen the new one, it has to stop the account. Thông tư 17/2024 (art. 19.3) tells banks to suspend payments and withdrawals when a client's documents are invalid or expired. Thông tư 18/2024 (art. 17.1.q) does the same for cards: the bank tracks a foreigner's passport and proof of residence, warns 30 days ahead, and suspends card transactions once they lapse.

For a foreigner those documents include not just the passport but whatever lets you stay in Vietnam: a visa, a temporary residence card (TRC) or proof of visa-exempt entry. That's how VIB lists them in its notice on the rules in force from 01.01.2025 (VIB). When one of them expires, VIB stops withdrawals and payments both at the counter and online, while it keeps collecting its own fees, loan payments and credit card debt. Woori Bank's FAQ, which we cover in the guide to bank biometrics and VNeID, works the same way.

How to unblock it:

1. Bring your valid passport and the document that shows your legal stay: the new visa, the entry stamp or your TRC.
2. Go to a branch of your bank. VIB's notice offers updating documents in the app or at a branch, but we found no separate online route for a foreigner's passport or visa in any bank's official materials.
3. Ask them to update your details, and check that your biometrics are on file. If not, they'll take them on the same visit.
4. Send yourself a small transfer in the app to make sure the account works again.

Your card's expiry is tied to your visa too. A foreigner's card can't be valid longer than their remaining permitted stay in Vietnam. That rule was already in Thông tư 18/2024 (art. 15.4); Thông tư 45/2025 kept it from 05.01.2026 and dropped the old requirement of a stay of at least 12 months (LuatVietnam, 18.12.2025). A card issued on a 90-day visa won't outlive it. After extending your visa, ask the branch how to extend the card.

Extend your visa before it runs out, so you only have the bank to deal with and not an overstay as well. The steps are in our guide to extending a Vietnam visa; for a longer stay see the temporary residence card guide.

Biometrics not done

Missing biometrics don't close your account, but since 2025 they block online transfers and app withdrawals: that's Thông tư 17/2024 (art. 17.5.c). Foreigners can only register their face at a branch counter, with a passport. The thresholds at which the app asks for your face again, and what still works without biometrics, are in our guide to VNeID and bank biometrics for foreigners.

Suspicious activity and State Bank checks

Suspicious activity is another reason a Vietnamese bank blocks an account. Since 2024 the State Bank has collected lists of accounts showing signs of fraud from all banks. According to VietnamNet, once the authorities confirm a violation, online transactions on the account are blocked. If there are only warning signs, online banking stays on but the bank asks the holder to verify their identity again, to make sure they're the one using the account (VietnamNet, 17.09.2024).

The State Bank also runs SIMO, a shared database of suspicious accounts. When you send money to an account in it, your banking app shows a warning, but SIMO itself doesn't block the transfer: whether to go ahead is your call. As of late May 2026, only 12 of nearly 50 banks had switched on SIMO warnings (VietnamNet, 28.05.2026). We found no separate rules for foreigners: all of this applies to your account too.

There's also a freeze ordered by the authorities. Under Thông tư 17/2024 (art. 6) the bank freezes part or all of the balance and notifies you, unless the authorities have asked in writing that it doesn't. Whatever isn't frozen stays usable.

If the bank flags your account:

1. Answer the bank's request: re-verify in the app or go to a branch with your passport.
2. Be ready to show where the money came from: a lease, an exchange receipt, messages with the person who paid you.
3. If the freeze came from the authorities, only their decision lifts it. Ask the branch which authority and on what case.

Dormant account

Leave an account unused long enough and the bank can close it. Thông tư 17/2024 (art. 13.1.h) lets banks close an account that doesn't keep a sufficient balance and has had no transactions for a set period, and each bank sets that period in its own terms. After closing, the bank must notify you, and the balance is returned under your agreement.

According to Vietnam News, LPBank, NCB, Agribank, Sacombank, Techcombank, MB and VIB already have rules to suspend, convert or close inactive accounts after anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. In August 2026 the State Bank proposed letting banks close accounts with no transactions for 3 years, but this is still only a draft amendment to Nghị định 52/2024 (Vietnam News, 04.08.2026). Headlines like "86 million accounts closed from 1 September" don't trace back to any primary source.

Before you leave, ask your branch how many months without transactions it takes before the account is suspended, and what balance to keep. If you're not coming back, close the account yourself and take the money while you're in the country. If it's already closed and you need one again, it's the same route as the first time: which banks open accounts for foreigners and with what documents is in our guide to opening a bank account in Vietnam.

Card lost or stolen

If your card is lost or stolen, block it right away, don't wait until morning. Under Thông tư 18/2024 (art. 19.2.c) the bank must block the card immediately when you ask, and from that moment it carries the losses on it. The app is fastest: Techcombank, for example, lets you lock the card in Techcombank Mobile. If your phone is gone too, call the hotline.

Numbers taken from the banks' official websites on 04.11.2026. Write your bank's number on paper and keep it away from the card: if your phone is stolen, you won't get into the app.

If someone has already used the card, dispute the charges. Thông tư 18/2024 (art. 19) gives you at least 60 days from the transaction. For domestic cards issued under the State Bank's system, the bank must resolve it within 30 working days; for international Visa and Mastercard cards the deadline is set by your card agreement. You can file through the hotline or at a branch.

Cards from your home bank follow that bank's fraud rules, not Vietnam's. Use the number on the back of the card or in its app.

If your passport went with the card, see the step-by-step guide on a lost passport in Vietnam. What else to do right after a theft is in our guide to staying safe in Vietnam.

Common mistakes

• Extending the visa and forgetting the bank. To the bank, the document your account was opened on has expired, and under Thông tư 17/2024 it will stop payments. Take the new visa or TRC to a branch right after the extension, not when a transfer bounces.
• Trying the PIN a third time. After three mistakes the card stops working at ATMs, and the machine may not give it back. If you don't remember the PIN, go straight to the bank.
• Leaving with a "live" account at zero. After 6 months to 2 years without transactions, some banks suspend or close the account. Check your bank's rules before you go, or close it while you're still in the country.
• Expecting the phone to fix everything. The hotline will block the card and tell you the reason, but documents, biometrics and flagged activity are handled at a branch.
• Not writing down the hotline. Without your phone you can't get into the app. A bank number on a piece of paper saves hours.

FAQ

Read next: Opening a bank account · VNeID and biometrics · Lost passport · Visa extension

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