Riel Street

How money moves in Cambodia.

Plain-English guides to Bakong, KHQR and the rules behind them. Every fact links to the National Bank of Cambodia or another official source.

KHQR abroad

From one partner in 2020 to 9 today.

Each step on the chart is the first officially confirmed launch with that partner. Some links only let visitors pay in Cambodia; others let Cambodians pay abroad.

  • ThailandLive
  • LaosLive
  • VietnamTo verify
  • MalaysiaLive
  • South KoreaLive
  • ChinaLive
  • JapanLive
  • SingaporeLive
  • IndiaLive
  • Alipay+ networkLive
See phases, dates and directions
2020202120222023202420252026ThailandSouth KoreaMalaysiaAlipay+ChinaJapanSingaporeLaosIndia
Partners with a live QR payment link to Cambodia, by date of first confirmed launch. Source: NBC and partner central banks.

Latest

  1. Payments22 Oct 20266 min read

    Dollars and riels: why Cambodia uses two currencies

    Why most Cambodian bank deposits are in US dollars, how the riel is winning back everyday payments, and what the central bank is doing to promote it.

  2. Payments22 Oct 20265 min read

    What is KHQR? Cambodia’s universal QR code explained

    What KHQR is, how one QR code works with every Bakong member app, what is inside a code, and how KHQR connects to QR systems abroad.

  3. Banking22 Oct 20264 min read

    The National Bank of Cambodia: what it regulates and which licences exist

    What Cambodia’s central bank does, the laws it works under, every type of institution it licenses with 2025 counts, and what falls to the separate non-bank regulator.

  4. Payments22 Oct 20264 min read

    How to pay in Cambodia as a tourist: KHQR, your home app and the Bakong Tourists app

    Which visitors can pay Cambodian QR codes with their own banking app, how the Bakong Tourists app works, and what to check before you pay.

  5. Cross-border22 Oct 20265 min read

    Southeast Asia’s national QR codes compared: KHQR, PromptPay, QRIS, DuitNow, SGQR and QR Ph

    Seven national QR payment systems side by side: who runs each one, when it launched, what standard it uses, and whether it links with Cambodia’s KHQR.

  6. Payments22 Oct 20263 min read

    Bakong explained: how Cambodia’s national payment system works

    What Bakong is, how it connects banks and wallets, what the 2025 numbers show, and why it matters for the riel and for cross-border QR payments.

  7. TrackerChecked 2026-10-2210 listed

    Cambodia’s cross-border QR links

    Every country linked to KHQR, with phases, direction of payment, dates and sources.

New to Cambodian payments?

Read these three in order. About 15 minutes.

  1. BakongThe national system that moves the money between banks and wallets.
  2. KHQRThe one QR code that every Bakong member app can pay.
  3. Cross-border QR linksWhich countries can pay with KHQR, and in which direction.

Every page shows where its facts come from.

The bar under each guide splits its sources. Blue is primary documents: laws, Prakas, reports and statistics. Grey is official announcements: press releases and speeches. We don’t cite news sites or company marketing.

How we check facts

Countries