How do people in Cambodia pay online?
Cash on delivery is still the main way to settle online orders. The US International Trade Administration reports that most e-commerce transactions are settled through cash on delivery, and that cashless payments are growing through QR codes, transfers between e-wallets and bank accounts, and the payment features of apps such as Grab and Foodpanda. DataReportal counts 12.0 million internet users in late 2025, 67.3% of the population.
Bakong and KHQR are the digital alternative. Bakong is the National Bank of Cambodia’s (NBC) payment system, and KHQR is the standard QR code built on it, so one code works across banking and wallet apps. The NBC’s 2024 annual report recorded 608.32 million Bakong transactions in 2024: 299.32 million in riel, 49% of the total, worth KHR 183.74 trillion, and 308.2 million in US dollars worth USD 104.81 billion. Cambodianess, citing NBC figures, reports about 1.3 billion transactions in 2025, a 118.7% increase on the year before.
Cambodia runs on two currencies, and Bakong carries both riel (KHR) and US dollar payments in roughly equal numbers. Visa and Mastercard cards are the third option. Google Pay is available for online payments, but Cambodia is not on Apple’s list of Apple Pay countries.
What rules shape online payments in Cambodia?
VAT is 10% on most goods and services. Under Sub-decree No. 65 of 8 April 2021, Prakas No. 542 of 8 September 2021 and the tax department’s Instruction No. 20522 of 8 December 2021, non-resident sellers of digital goods, digital services or e-commerce to Cambodian consumers collect 10% VAT and file a monthly return on form NR-VAT01, paying in KHR. The deadline is the 20th of the following month for manual filing and the 25th for e-filing.
Business buyers self-account. When the buyer is a self-declaration taxpayer in Cambodia, the non-resident files the return but the buyer pays the VAT under the reverse charge. If such a buyer does not pay from its own bank account in its own name, the sale is treated as a consumer sale and the seller collects the VAT. Non-residents can pay the tax by local bank, by card or by transfer from abroad.
E-commerce has its own law. Cambodia enacted an e-commerce law in November 2019 that covers domestic and cross-border online sales and reportedly includes protections for consumers buying on e-commerce platforms.
How would Omno route payments in Cambodia?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In Cambodia:
- KHQR and bank app payments would go to a local provider that supports Bakong, with the hosted checkout showing the QR code and the order pending until the provider confirms.
- Card pay-ins would follow rules by BIN, currency and amount, with cascading: if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Currency rules could send USD and KHR payments to the providers that settle each currency, since shoppers pay in both.
- Customer groups could see different methods, for example a prepaid KHQR option for first orders so fewer orders fall back to cash on delivery.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cash on delivery alongside digital payment. Most orders are still settled in cash, so prepaid options have to be quick to win them over.
Plan for KHQR. Bakong transactions more than doubled in 2025, and one KHQR code reaches shoppers across banks and wallets.
Plan for two currencies. Price and settle in USD and KHR where you can, and set routing by currency.
Plan for VAT. Foreign sellers to Cambodian consumers collect 10% VAT and file monthly, with returns due by the 20th or the 25th of the next month.