The National Bank of Cambodia has officially launched its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) named Project Bakong, co-developed by Japanese fintech company SORAMITSU. The central bank is the first in South East Asia to do so.
Bakong is a multi-stakeholder system that enables instant and final transactions using digital Cambodian Riel (KHR) or United States Dollars (USD).
Bakong is said to work seamlessly and securely in concert with Cambodia’s legacy payment systems, and has already been embraced by 18 financial institutions nationwide. A smartphone app allows anyone with a domestic phone number and bank account to maintain a digital Riel or USD wallet, transfer between accounts, and make person-to-person and point-of-sale payments via phone number or EMVCo-compatible QR code scan.
