The free market
USD rose by 80 dong on the buying side and 100 dong on the selling side in the morning of April 28, 2026, widening the gap with the rates at commercial banks to about 400-450 dong per USD, while the USD rate in the banking system remained pegged near the ceiling under the operating framework.
On April 28, 2026, the State Bank of Vietnam announced the central USD/VND rate at 25.111, down slightly 2 dong from the previous session. With a band of +/-5%, the ceiling rate is 26.366 VND, while the floor is 23.855.
The reference rate at the State Bank’s Trading Center is 23.906 and 26.316 VND (buy-in – sell), about 50 dong lower than the selling rate at commercial banks.
Notably, the USD selling price at commercial banks (26.366–26.368 VND/USD) is nearly touching the ceiling, indicating a clear “peg” trend in line with the operating framework. Meanwhile, the buying rate is adjusted more flexibly, reflecting competition to attract foreign currency.
In the transfer market, buying USD prices among 15 commercial banks ranged from 26.050 - 26.225 VND. The highest buying price belonged to OCB (26.225 VND), followed by VPBank (26.188 VND) and Bao Viet, VietBank (26.180 VND). The lowest buying price was listed by NCB at 26.050 VND, creating a notable gap with the leading banks.
By contrast, transfer selling USD prices remained largely flat across banks, around 26.366-26.368 VND. SeABank was one of the few banks offering a slightly lower rate at 26.357 VND/USD. This clustering suggests limited room for price competition on the selling side as banks keep similar price levels.
The spread between buying and selling USD thus shows a clear differentiation, ranging from 141 to 316 VND. OCB recorded the smallest spread (141 VND), reflecting a competitive pricing strategy to attract transactions. In contrast, NCB posted the largest spread (316 VND), signaling a more cautious approach to pricing.
Most other banks maintained the buying – selling spread within a typical range of about 200–230 VND, forming a standard band in the market.
On the free market, the USD/VND exchange rate rose clearly. On April 28, the buy rate was around 26.750 VND/USD and the sell rate around 26.800 VND/USD, up about 80-100 dong from the previous day.
Compared with the banks’ listed levels (selling around 26.366 - 26.368 VND), the free market rate was about 430 - 450 dong higher per USD.
