ATMs in Laos

Money is Laos can be confusing due to the wide acceptance of 3 different currencies: US Dollars, Thai Baht, and Laos Kip. As the first two need to be mint condition notes, they’re quite awkward to use. Instead, it’s easier to use the local currency – Kip. That’s where the next confusion comes in as using ATMs in Laos means navigating low withdrawal limits and fees.

In the bigger town and cities, there are many ATMs so finding one usually isn’t a problem. We tested the machines from every bank that our cards would work in so we could give you the best information on using the ATMs in Laos. (Yes, we really are that fun!)

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ATM Withdrawal Limits and Fees

As of July 2024 these are the withdrawal limits and fees for the ATMs that accept foreign Mastercard and Visa cards:

The other 2 banks that operate ATMs in Laos are ST Bank and Indochina. However, STB doesn’t accept international cards and Indochina only accept Visa cards so we weren’t able to check it (we only have Mastercard cards).

If your eyes are going fuzzy from staring at all the numbers, these are the important takeaways:

• BCEL ATM’s offer the best option for using an ATM in Laos to get large amounts of money out. It’s also totally OK to do multiple transactions in one day – we withdrew 8 million Kip over 4 transactions from one card. As we hit the card’s limit, we don’t know if there is actually an upper limit or not.
• If you’re withdrawing 1.5 million (or less) Kip, then Phongsavanh has lower fees. So it’s the better option if you just need a little cash top-up for a tuktuk or something.

Before you go travelling, we recommend signing up to a bank that offers a debit card with no foreign transaction fees. You still have to pay the ATM fee but nothing else on top which means the 30k charge isn’t too big a deal (though still very frustrating).

We have a few just in case something goes wrong or we lose one of cards and love Wise, Revolut and Starling (this one’s UK only though).

Paying by Card in Laos

Outside of plush hotels or restaurants in Laos, card payments are still very rare. So we’d recommend keeping cash on you at all times.

Just don’t leave it until you have absolutely no money left before making a trip to the ATM. As on two separate visits to Laos, we found that all the ATMs went down and we couldn’t get any money out for a few days.

Relatively recently, they’ve also started accepting payments via QR code for easier cashless payments. You need to download the LOCA app and it’s pretty easy to setup, even with a foreign card. But (and it’s a big but), there’s a 10% transaction fee for using it. So we’d really only recommend it as a backup.

Using Dollars and Thai Baht in Laos

Almost everywhere in Laos will accept US dollars instead of the local Kip. There are a few things to be aware of though:

The notes must be post 2007 and in absolutely pristine condition

Any tiny tear or slight stain and they won’t be accepted. This is because USD obviously isn’t printed in Laos so the Lao banks will only accept perfect notes as they have to pay to replace any damaged ones.

So, if a Laos person goes to the bank with a torn 50 dollar bill, the bank may only give them $45 worth of Kip in return to cover this cost. Which means everyone is super careful around foreign bank notes.

(The Kip can look like they’ve been through a washing machine, chewed by a cow, then run over by a scooter and nobody will bat an eyelid though!)

The exchange rate may be different

There have been many issues with hotels and restaurants using an exchange rate well below the actual rate. They’re (usually) not scamming you despite that you think the money is worth, it’s because bank fees are so high even for locals.

The Lao government has made it illegal to only list prices in USD. You should always be given the option to pay in EITHER USD and Kip… but that doesn’t mean hotels actually do this.

You’ll get change in Kip

Especially if you’re paying in a restaurant.

They might accept your $20 for your $10 meal but they probably wont have USD to give you in change. So always expect to get change in Kip and have an idea how much you should be getting back.

Exchanging USD at gold shops

Some gold shops will give you a better exchange rate than you’ll find online, especially for $100 bills. They need to be pristine as with anywhere else but you can be offered up to a 10% better rate as the government are desperate for foreign currency to buy imports with.

However, this is technically illegal so be aware of that. And be careful to check how much Kip you are given in return as this is a common scam the world over.

Using Thai Baht

Thai Baht is less widely accepted than US dollars but most places will take it in a pinch (especially near the Thai border).

At the border, if you’re paying for your visa in Baht they may insist on pristine notes again. Same with hotels and restaurants.

As Baht isn’t as valuable a currency as USD you’re more likely to get a poor exchange rate by paying in Baht so its generally not a good idea if you can avoid it.

Summary

The ATMs in Laos are frustrating due to their fees and low withdrawal limits. We recommend seeking out BCEL to minimize the fees (or Phongsavanh when withdrawing smaller amounts). When the numbers are in tens of thousands or even millions, the ATM fee can seem really high at first but it’s actually not a huge amount of money. So we’ve always just paid the fees and lived with the small expense.

There are other options but not really any great ones. Luckily Laos is so affordable and such a great place to travel in that this isn’t a big deal.