Cambodia has its own currency, the Khmer riel (KHR), but most of the money in its banks is in US dollars. Economists call this dollarization. The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), which is the only issuer of the riel, says it weakens the central bank’s control over the economy. It has spent years trying to bring the riel back into wider use.
This page explains how the two-currency system came about, what the NBC’s own figures show today, and what it is doing about it.
| Dollars and riels at a glance | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Foreign currency share of bank deposits | 90.7% |
| Foreign currency deposits compared with broad money (M2) | 84.4% |
| Riel share of Bakong payments, by number | 58.2% |
| Average exchange rate | KHR 4,011 per US dollar |
Sources: NBC Financial Stability Review 2025 and Annual Report 2025.
How Cambodia ended up with two currencies
The NBC’s own history page sets out the background:
- 1954: after independence, the newly founded NBC began printing the riel as Cambodia’s national currency.
- 17 April 1975: when the Khmer Rouge took power, the NBC was closed, the banking system was eliminated and the use of riel banknotes was abolished.
- 1979–1980: after the regime fell, trade ran largely on barter, and civil servants were paid in goods such as rice, fish and oil. The riel was reissued on 20 March 1980. The NBC still marks that date each year.
Starting again from nothing left room for the dollar. At the NBC and UNDP research launch in March 2026, the head of the UN Development Programme in Cambodia said aid that flowed into the country in the 1990s contributed to dollarization.
What the numbers show today
Bank deposits: still mostly dollars
The NBC measures dollarization in two ways. Both have barely moved in six years:
| Year | Foreign currency deposits / total deposits | Foreign currency deposits / M2 |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 93.1% | 83.9% |
| 2021 | 91.4% | 83.0% |
| 2022 | 90.4% | 83.0% |
| 2023 | 90.3% | 83.4% |
| 2024 | 90.9% | 85.1% |
| 2025 | 90.7% | 84.4% |
In other words, only about 9% of the value of Cambodian bank deposits is held in riel; the other 90.7% is in foreign currency. The NBC says the riel share of deposits “has remained broadly stable”, and that people still prefer foreign currency for saving.
Everyday payments: the riel is catching up
Digital payments tell a different story. On Bakong, the NBC’s national payment system, the riel’s share of transactions has more than tripled:
| Year | Riel share of Bakong transactions | US dollar share |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 18.2% | 81.8% |
| 2021 | 20.1% | 79.9% |
| 2022 | 21.5% | 78.5% |
| 2023 | 34.2% | 65.8% |
| 2024 | 49.3% | 50.7% |
| 2025 | 58.2% | 41.8% |
In 2025 Bakong handled about 1.33 billion transactions: 771.2 million in riel and 554.5 million in dollars. That made 2025 the first year in the NBC’s 2020–2025 series in which riel payments outnumbered dollar ones on Bakong. The NBC’s Annual Report puts the total number of riel payment transactions in 2025 at 1.4 billion, worth KHR 470.3 trillion, up 89% in number from 2024.
These shares count transactions, not money. Dollar payments still tend to be larger, and the NBC notes that the dollar “remained significant” in overall payment activity.
The exchange rate: stable around 4,000
The NBC aims to keep the riel stable against the dollar. It averaged KHR 4,011 per dollar in 2025, a 1.5% rise in value from 4,071 in 2024. For comparison, it averaged 4,056 in 2016–2019 and 4,101 in 2020–2023. The NBC credits the 2025 rise to stronger demand for riel in daily transactions, higher farm output and the growth of riel e-payments.
Why the central bank cares
The NBC gives two reasons in its 2025 reports:
- Monetary policy works less well. A central bank steers the economy mainly through its own currency. When most deposits and loans are in dollars, the NBC has less influence over them. Its Annual Report says high dollarization “continues to hamper” monetary policy.
- Financial stability. The Financial Stability Review calls promoting the riel “critical” both for monetary policy and for the safety of the financial system.
What the NBC is doing about it
A minimum share of riel loans
Under Prakas B7-016-334 of 1 December 2016, every bank and financial institution the NBC supervises must hold at least 10% of its loan portfolio in riel. Institutions had until 31 December 2019 to comply, must include riel lending in their strategies, and the NBC may raise the requirement if needed. The NBC’s published reports we used do not give the current riel share of loans.
Borrowing in riel got cheaper in 2025: banks’ average rate on riel loans fell to 11.26% (from 12.13%), and on riel deposits to 5.01% (from 5.71%).
Riel in digital payments
The NBC links the riel’s rise in payments to easier access to riel payments through Bakong, and says digital payment initiatives have also supported growth in riel deposits. On the KHQR code standard, every code is set to a single currency, either riel or dollars, chosen by the merchant. The NBC says the Integrated Payment System, piloted in mid-2024, also helps promote riel payments.
Banknotes and public outreach
- Clean notes. The NBC keeps putting new riel notes into circulation and swaps old, worn or torn ones for the public at its branches.
- Roadshows. In 2025, a programme called “The Riel, the Bakong System, and KHQR” toured Phnom Penh and five provinces: Takeo, Kratie, Stung Treng, Pursat and Kampong Chhnang. It combined currency history exhibitions, Bakong and KHQR demonstrations, and free note exchanges; about 168.2 million riel in unfit notes were swapped.
- “What Can 10,000 Riel Buy?” A video competition that drew 101 entries and more than 2.1 million views.
- Anniversaries. On 20 March 2025 the NBC held a seminar at the National Assembly for the riel’s 45th anniversary. On 20 March 2026, the 46th, it presented joint research with UNDP on dollarization in the garment, footwear and travel goods sector.
Plans for 2026
The NBC’s targets for 2026 include keeping the exchange rate stable, promoting the use and knowledge of the riel, and working with local authorities to spread riel use and KHQR payments at the local level.
What this means in practice
- Both currencies are in everyday use. Bakong carries payments in both riel and dollars, and the NBC reports deposits and loans in both.
- Check the currency on a QR code. Because a KHQR code is either riel or dollars, check which one before you confirm a payment. Our guide for visitors covers this.
- A rough conversion. At about 4,000 riel to the dollar, 10,000 riel is roughly US$2.50. That is approximate; the exact rate moves a little day to day.
Still to confirm
These points are not covered by the official sources we used, so we leave them out for now:
- The current riel share of bank loans, and whether every institution meets the 10% rule.
- Any rules on pricing goods in riel, or on businesses holding riel accounts.
- The findings of the NBC–UNDP garment-sector research itself; the press release does not summarise them.
We will update this page when an official source confirms them.
Sources
Primary sources are documents from central banks and regulators. We cite them first.
- OfficialHistory of the National Bank of CambodiaNational Bank of CambodiaRiel abolished on 17 April 1975; reissued on 20 March 1980.
- OfficialAbout the NBC: OverviewNational Bank of CambodiaThe NBC is the sole issuer of the riel.
- PrimaryFinancial Stability Review 2025National Bank of CambodiaFigure 1.18, p. 9: foreign currency deposits to M2 and to total deposits, 2020–2025. Bakong currency shares, p. 32. Riel deposits, p. 19.
- PrimaryAnnual Report 2025 and Target for 2026National Bank of CambodiaExchange rate (p. 23), interest rates (p. 27), riel payments (p. 47), banknotes (p. 59), riel outreach (p. 95), 2026 targets (pp. 107, 113).
- PrimaryPrakas on Provision of Credit in National Currency of Banking and Financial Institutions, No. B7-016-334 (1 December 2016)National Bank of CambodiaArticle 4: at least 10% of each institution’s loans in riel by 31 December 2019. Unofficial translation.
- OfficialJoint press release: NBC and UNDP disseminate joint research on dollarization in the garment, footwear and travel goods sector (20 March 2026)National Bank of Cambodia
- PrimaryKHQR SDK Documentation, Implementation Guideline v2.9 (May 2025)National Bank of CambodiaEach KHQR code carries one currency: KHR or USD.
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