Convenience stores, street stalls, and even tuk-tuks are accepting digital payments in Cambodia today as the country rapidly shifts away from a cash-based economy, and it is primarily being driven by QR code payments. These secure, instant transactions are changing the way we spend and send money.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has led the charge in the push towards digital payments, with the total value of digital transactions reaching 2.5 trillion Khmer Riel ($624 million) in 2023. With Bakong and KHQR now well established, too, e-wallet usage has surged, with well over 19 million registered accounts.
Key to this growth has beenQR code payments, primarily thanks to ease of use and convenience. In Visa’s “Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2022”, 12% of respondents reported using QR codes in 2020, but that number substantially increased to 68% in 2022.
This shift has had a significant impact on businesses, being particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises by allowing them to reduce cash-handling risks, cut costs, and expand their customer base. Street vendors and tuk-tuk drivers have also embraced QR payments to meet demand for cashless transactions, particularly now that inbound tourists can also set up a Bakong account to make payments via QR codes.
Cambodia has even expanded QR payment capabilities internationally, with the NBC launching a cross-border QR payment system with Malaysia, benefiting over 5 million merchants, while Alipay+ has also integrated with KHQR to allow users of a dozen international apps to pay at over 1 million Cambodian merchants.
However, despite progress, challenges remain. Some merchants struggle with financial literacy, and concerns about transaction dishonesty persist, but with educational initiatives in this area proliferating in Cambodia from the government and private sector companies, the take-up of digital banking and transactions is only set to increase.
