The recent meeting between National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) governor Chea Serey and Thai ambassador Cherdkiat Atthakor. NBC
Cambodia and Thailand have reaffirmed their commitment to bolster financial collaboration, with a particular emphasis on enhancing cross-border payments to stimulate trade, tourism and investment.
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The pledge came at a recent meeting between National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) governor Chea Serey and Thai ambassador Cherdkiat Atthakor.
“The discussion mainly centred on the promotion of cooperation between the two countries and the exchange of views on new initiatives aimed at enriching the banking sectors and the economies of both nations,” said an NBC statement released after the October 4 meeting.
Cherdkiat praised Serey for spearheading projects that advance Cambodia’s financial sector. He voiced his admiration for initiatives that promote the use of the riel, Cambodia’s national currency. This includes the establishment of the Preah Srey Icanavarman Museum, which heightens public awareness about the riel’s benefits and the narrative of Cambodia’s economy and currency.
Serey emphasised the strengthening bond between the NBC and the Bank of Thailand. The two central banks have enhanced collaboration in areas like professional exchange programmes, offering higher-education scholarships for NBC officials in Thailand, and the development of cross-border payment systems.
“Thailand is the primary country with which Cambodia has established interoperable payment and remittance systems. This has been pivotal for trade, investment and tourism, and for endorsing the use of national currencies in sync with the ASEAN Economic Community’s objectives,” Serey said.
The two kingdoms initiated Phase II of their transnational Quick Response (QR) code payment system on June 6 this year. This system facilitates KHQR payments to 7.6 million merchants in Thailand and ThaiQR payments to 1.5 million in Cambodia. KHQR and ThaiQR represent the universal QR code standards in Cambodia and Thailand, respectively.
The NBC had previously launched the KHQR system on July 3, 2022 for cross-border retail payments within ASEAN.
Sanzhar Abdullayev, ABA Bank’s chief card and e-payment officer, spoke highly of the system in an interview with The Post back in August.
“Bakong has significantly impacted financial inclusion, providing a streamlined and secure base for transactions domestically and internationally,” he said, referring to Cambodia’s blockchain-based interbank mobile payment platform.
He said that ABA Bank joined Bakong in August 2020. By mid-2023, the system registered 50 million transactions worth over $10 billion, compared to 32 million transactions in 2022, albeit with the same value.
ABA Bank has been heavily investing in infrastructure, with $35 million allocated in 2022 and a further $47 million this year. These funds are directed towards data centres, software, hardware and cybersecurity.
NBC’s semi-annual report for 2023 indicates that Bakong is supported by 70 financial institutions, with 49 actively operating. In terms of transaction volume, Bakong recorded 11.6 million transactions in the local currency, totalling 12.2 trillion riel (up 470%) while US dollar transactions reached 21.3 million, amounting to $8.7 billion, up 160%.
