10 Dong - Foreign Exchange Certificate

Vietnam's Foreign Exchange Certificates were introduced in 1987 as part of the Doi Moi reform period, creating a parallel currency system that allowed the state to capture hard currency from tourists, overseas Vietnamese remittances, and diplomats while insulating the domestic dong from external convertibility pressure. Vietcombank administered the scheme, and FEC holders could access goods unavailable for ordinary dong — the certificates effectively functioned as a rationing mechanism dressed as a currency.

The FX series is the first such issue, P#FX1 being the lowest denomination of the set. The program was short-lived; by the early 1990s the dual-currency apparatus was dismantled as broader economic liberalization made it redundant.