China Cambodia Mobile Payment Cooperation Promotes Cambodia's Digital Economic Transformation

In recent years, ASEAN countries have shifted the focus of monetary cooperation to the clearing field, especially the interconnection of digital mobile payment systems, which has become a booster for economic, trade, and tourism exchanges among ASEAN countries, driving rapid regional economic development. At the end of last year, the interconnection between Cambodia's Bakong payment system and UnionPay's international QR code payment network was officially launched, facilitating personnel exchanges and capital exchanges between China and Cambodia, and further helping Cambodia's economic digital transformation.

More than 3.3 million merchants accept QR code payments

Unexpectedly, electronic payments in Cambodia have become quite popular, and there is no need to open a local account. You can directly link to a bank card in China by scanning the merchant's QR code for consumption, especially in the capital Phnom Penh, where most merchants accept QR code payments. During the National Day holiday, Tang Bo, who runs a travel agency in Chengdu, China, came to Cambodia to investigate the market.

During his several day trip, whether using a taxi app to travel in Phnom Penh or purchasing daily necessities at a shopping center, Tang Bo achieved cashless payments. After a trip, the cashless payment experience is almost no different from within China, which greatly increases confidence in operating the tourism industry overseas, "Tang Bo said with anticipation.

The National Bank of Cambodia officially launched the Bakong payment system in October 2020, aiming to promote the use of Cambodian currency and the popularization of electronic payments, while enhancing the interconnectivity between financial institutions. On December 22, 2023, the interconnection between the Bakong payment system in Cambodia and the UnionPay international QR code payment network was officially launched, opening up cross-border QR code payments. This became the first cooperation project for payment interconnection between China and Cambodia. Data shows that Cambodia received nearly 390000 Chinese tourists in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 45%. Currently, there are over 3.3 million merchants in Cambodia that accept QR code payments and approximately 150000 POS systems that accept credit card settlements.

Cambodian National Bank Governor Xie Silei stated that China is the main source of tourism for Cambodia, and UnionPay cards are a favored payment tool for Chinese tourists. In Cambodia, over 90% of merchants widely accept and use UnionPay cards.

The interconnection of payment systems between China and Cambodia promotes the digital transformation of Cambodia's economy, not only improving payment efficiency and reducing transaction costs, but also further promoting the rapid development of Cambodia's tourism industry, "said Liu Daozhi, President of Bank of China Phnom Penh Branch. UnionPay users can scan the CatchQR QR code to make payments at Cambodian merchants, and Cambodian residents can also make payments at merchants that support UnionPay QR codes through Bakong Wallet.

According to official data from the National Bank of Cambodia, as of the first half of this year, the Bakong payment system has processed over 220 million transactions, including 98.05 million transactions based on Cambodian riyals, with a total transaction amount of 77 trillion riyals; The number of transactions based on the US dollar reached over 120 million, with a total transaction amount of 46.33 billion US dollars.

Chinese enterprises actively participate in Cambodia's digital construction

The mutual scanning and recognition between UnionPay and Bakong system is the first step towards the interconnection and interoperability of mobile payment systems between the two countries. Xie Silei stated that the National Bank of Cambodia is committed to further strengthening the security and convenience of cross-border payments, and supporting the Cambodian government's goal of achieving inclusive finance by encouraging the development of digital payments.

The safety and convenience of inclusive finance can be seen in the Lanzhou Beef Noodle Restaurant run by Chinese Li Tao. Because the local currency in Cambodia is the Riel and the US dollar, if payment is made in cash and there is little change in US dollars, only Riel can be used for change, which is very difficult to convert.

Now, QR codes are posted on the dining tables in Li Tao's store, and customers can scan the code to pay by themselves, saving a lot of trouble. What makes him most happy is that since this year, the local UnionPay card in Cambodia can also be bound to WeChat and Alipay, so that his income in Cambodia can be directly consumed or online shopping in China without remittance.

"Cross border consumption payment can be realized by simply using the domestic QR code payment APP, or the bank APP, and scanning the other party's QR code. This greatly facilitates the flow of personnel and cross-border settlement of funds between the two countries, and will promote closer personnel exchanges between the two countries." Liu Daozhi said that Cambodia's Bakong system has also established a QR code cross-border payment connection with Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and other neighboring countries, and believes that more countries will participate in such cross-border payment system in the future.

At present, Bank of China Phnom Penh Branch is authorized by the National Bank of Cambodia as the only clearing bank for interconnection between Bakong and UnionPay QR code payment networks. Its main role is to assist UnionPay and Bakong operators in cross-border fund transfers.

In addition, we are actively expanding our merchant acquiring business and expanding the application market of Bakong and UnionPay QR code interconnection in Cambodia, "said Liu Daozhi. The Bank of China Phnom Penh Branch will actively leverage its cross-border business advantages, solidly fulfill its clearing functions, and provide more convenience for fund exchanges between China and Cambodia.