The development of the new system, known as Retail Pay, was backed by a $8mn grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency.
The NBC (National Bank of Cambodia) has reportedly launched a new retail payments system, as part of government efforts to reduce the use of cash in favour of electronic payments.
In October 2019, the NBC announced a soft launch of the new system – known as ‘Retail Pay’ – in cooperation with KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency), KFTC (Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute) and Mobile C&C, with six partner banks and one microfinance institution participating in the system.
The development of Retail Pay backed by a USD 8 million grant from South Korea through KOICA, after the two countries agreed to collaborate on enhancing Cambodia’s national retail payments system.
Hailing Retail Pay as a new milestone for Cambodia, NBC deputy governor Neav Chanthana said the system “will play an important role in contributing to the economic development by providing safe, efficient and fast payments that facilitate timely trade settlement.”
The NBC has also been working with other countries in the region to advance its retail payments infrastructure. Last February, the NBC and BOT (Bank of Thailand) announced the launch of a QR code-based retail payments link between the two countries. Last October, the NBC also launched ‘Bakong’, a CBDC developed based on blockchain technology developed by Japanese fintech Soramitsu.
Read more: https://www.regulationasia.com/cambodia-officially-launches-new-retail-payments-system/
