Dollars, riel and Bakong: how Cambodian businesses get paid

A Siem Reap tour company takes payments three ways. Walk-in customers scan its KHQR code from any Cambodian banking app, paying in dollars or riel. It pays local guides and hotels by Bakong transfer in seconds. Its foreign agency partners in France and Australia pay by international transfer to its Cambodian bank, which takes days.

Two currencies

Cambodia's economy runs on dollars and riel together. Prices are often quoted in dollars, with change in riel. The government and the National Bank of Cambodia encourage riel use, and some payments must be in riel, but dollars remain dominant for larger transactions.

Bakong and KHQR

The National Bank launched Bakong in 2020, a payment system that lets customers and businesses send instant payments between banks and wallets in dollars and riel. KHQR, the national QR standard, means one code accepts payments from any participating app.

For businesses, this made local collection and supplier payments fast and cheap.

Foreign clients

Foreign clients and agencies do not use Bakong. They pay by international transfer to Cambodian banks, usually in dollars, which can take several days and lose fees on the way. Agree who pays charges and send invoice numbers with each request.

Paying into Cambodia: the local rail

Source: National Bank of Cambodia: Bakong. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

Rivet opens business accounts for registered companies after verification, including Cambodian companies, subject to National Bank of Cambodia rules. Approved companies get US account details in their own name on every plan, so US partners can pay by ACH, and euro and sterling details from the Growth plan for European partners. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds.