Cambodia’s Central Bank Governor Believes Digital Currency Will Boost Fiat Use: Here’s Why
Central Bank Governor Chea Serey revealed On May 28 that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Bakong could increase the adoption of Cambodia’s Riel currency by facilitating cross-border QR payments.
In an exclusive interview at Nikkei’s Future of Asia conference in Tokyo, Chea Serey discussed the dynamics of Cambodia’s currency system and how it’s evolving.
At the occasion of the Nikkei Forum 29th Future of Asia, Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Kao Kim Hourn, met with the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Dr Chea Serey.
They discussed the significant progress made in ASEAN digital payments integration, financial… pic.twitter.com/pmy8pQ0ybk
— ASEAN (@ASEAN) May 24, 2024
She revealed that over 80% of Cambodia’s economy still relies on the U.S. dollar as part of a dual-currency system. The government is trying to ensure citizens use the riel more for local transactions, however.
Cambodia’s central bank governor said that while the US dollar dominates physical transactions, the local currency (riel) is used more in digital transactions.
Since its launch in 2020, the Bakong CBDC has facilitated a total of $70 billion in digital payments as of 2023, a figure approximately double the country’s GDP.
Domestic Bakong CBDC transactions can be conducted in both riel and dollars, but the riel accounted for $20 billion of last year’s total, more than twice the value from 2022.
Serey further reiterated that cross-border transactions play an essential role in promoting the use of the riel. Bakong’s functionality extends to QR code-based payments between Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, as well as transactions involving China’s UnionPay.
These cross-border payments exclusively use the riel, requiring Cambodian citizens to
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