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

In Cambodia, shops and stalls take digital payments through KHQR, the national QR code standard run by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). The NBC counts about 4.5 million merchants that accept it. As a visitor you have two ways to pay one of those codes without cash:

1. Your own banking or wallet app from home, if your country’s QR system is linked with Cambodia’s.
2. The NBC’s Bakong Tourists app, topped up from a Visa card issued in your home country.

Which one works for you depends on where you come from. The table below shows what the official announcements cover today.

Can my home app pay KHQR in Cambodia?

The details can differ by country, such as which banks and apps take part. Your home bank or wallet is the place to check them. For the full phase-by-phase history, see our cross-border QR tracker.

If your country is not marked yes, or your bank is not part of the link, use the Bakong Tourists app instead.

The Bakong Tourists app

The NBC launched Bakong Tourists with Visa on 22 January 2025. According to the NBC, visitors download the app, register, and connect it to a Visa card issued in their home country. They then move money into their own Bakong account and pay by scanning KHQR codes.

Setting it up

The NBC’s user manual describes these steps:

1. Register with your email address. The app sends a one-time code to your email. You then enter your name, date of birth, a username and a password.
2. Save your recovery code. The app gives you one; keep it somewhere safe in case you lose access.
3. Verify your identity. Take a selfie, photograph your passport, and confirm the details the app reads from it. Once approved, your account shows as fully verified (“full-kyc”).
4. Add money from your Visa card into your Bakong account.

It is easiest to do this before you travel, or as soon as you have a stable internet connection.

Paying with it

1. Open QR Pay and point the camera at the merchant’s KHQR code. You can also choose a saved QR image.
2. Check the amount and the receiver’s name on screen.
3. Tap Confirm.

The app holds balances in both Khmer riel (KHR) and US dollars (USD), and lets you exchange between the two. This matters because every KHQR code carries one currency, either riel or dollars, set by the merchant.

Limits

For a verified account, the manual sets a daily limit of USD 3,000 and KHR 12,000,000 for transfers and withdrawals.

Before you scan: three checks

• The name on screen. A KHQR code carries the merchant’s name, and your app shows it before you confirm. If it doesn’t match the shop you are in, don’t pay.
• The currency. A code is either riel or dollars. Make sure the amount looks right in that currency.
• The amount. At a printed stand, you type the amount yourself. On a screen at the till, it is usually filled in for you. Check it either way.

Our guide What is KHQR? explains what is inside a code and why the name check works.

Still to confirm

The official documents we used do not cover these points, so we leave them out rather than guess:

• Fees for adding money from a Visa card or for exchanging between riel and dollars in Bakong Tourists.
• Whether cards other than Visa can be linked.
• What happens to money left in the app at the end of your trip.
• Limits for accounts that are not yet verified.
• Which wallets the Alipay+ link covers, and in which direction they can pay.

We will update this page when an official source confirms them.