Bakong App Launched For Tourists

Making payments in Cambodia just got easier for foreigners visiting the nation, with the launch of the Bakong Tourists app, which can also be used in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has launched Bakong Tourists, aimed at assisting international tourists in making payments in the Kingdom, adding that it can be used in Bakong partner nations, including Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

During a soft launching ceremony of the Bakong Tourists app on August 19, Chea Serey, NBC Governor, said that the advancement of the payment system is a pivotal priority for NBC as its goal is to establish an innovative, secure and efficient payment infrastructure that will enhance economic activities domestically and regionally.

“The Bakong Tourists establishment aims to boost the digital payment system in Cambodia and contribute to the tourist sector in the nation by making it easier for international tourists to Cambodia to pay digitally for products and services,” she said.

Serey added that tourists can download the app, register using an email and top-up their account through business partners for international tourists.

“I hope that an agreement with an international settlement company will be made soon to facilitate this,” she said. “Across the nation, there are only 55,000 places that have POS (point of sale). So, when a tourist visits small vendors, he cannot pay with a credit card but with cash.”

Serey added that the initiative also aims to reduce the reliance on cash, enabling tourists to make payments by scanning the KHQR code at approximately 3.3 million merchants across the nation.

“It is convenient for tourists as they can buy goods from small vendors in villages and provinces. If they can pay by scanning the KHQR code, it will make their spending easier and especially they will spend in riel,” she said. “Regardless of where they are from, after depositing, they will be charged in riel.”

Serey said that it will be linked to Malaysia late this month and South Korea next month. Regarding MoU countries, she stated that tourists from those nations can use their existing accounts and make payments in Cambodia, just like they do in their own countries.

“But, it requires the traders [in Cambodia] to have a KHQR merchant,” she said. “If the traders use the US merchant, they cannot receive it.”

According to NBC, tourists can spend up to $1,000 per day and up to $3,000 per day with verification. Tourists can withdraw any remaining money from banks and business partners at the airport without being charged a fee, or they can donate to hospitals, such as Kantha Bopha and Angkor Hospital.

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