Cambodia’s tech-savvy youth is expected to drive the country’s move to de-dollarisation, according to one of the country’s best-known fintech firms.

According to TrueMoney, Cambodia’s tech-savvy youth will continue to drive the adoption of e-wallets and mobile payments to the point where de-dollarisation will become inevitable. The fintech firm says that the increased use of phones and apps for financial transactions will encourage local companies and institutions to trade in Riel.

“We expect there to be a snowball effect which will be driven by digital payments which are becoming increasingly popular among the country’s youth,” said TrueMoney (Cambodia) Chief Strategy Officer Ms. KHUON Frandara. “The business sector will have to follow consumer demand and will increasingly move to digital transactions in the Khmer currency.”

TrueMoney says that 70% of all the firm’s current transactions are conducted in Khmer Riel. The number of Khmer Riel transactions has increased every year. 

“Khmer Riel transactions are not limited to e-wallet payments but are also being conducted in person by customers with thousands of TrueMoney agents across the country,” added Ms. KHUON Frandara.  

TrueMoney was a sponsor at the recent 40th Anniversary of the Re-introduction of the Riel at the Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeetra Hotel. The event, which took place on September 28th, was hosted by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC). 

At the event, the National Bank of Cambodia Governor Chea Chanto advocated the increased use of the Khmer currency saying that the demand for the Riel had been increasing by an average of 16 percent per year over the past two decades.

The National Bank Governor also said Cambodia required a strong national currency to improve the country’s economic and financial resilience to support development.

Since establishing the company’s operations in Cambodia in 2016, TrueMoney has created the largest fintech agent network in the country. According to TrueMoney, there is a network of more than 10,000 agents offering financial-related services to the unbanked and underbanked segments of society. 

As the best-known fintech company in South East Asia, TrueMoney has more than 65,000 agents serving 40 million users in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The company is also backed by Alibaba-owned Ant Financial which provides access to the latest fintech products and technologies.

TrueMoney, which currently offers online and offline payment services such as local remittance, bill payments, phone top-ups, loan repayments, and payroll services are operated by Ascend Money which is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) and fintech partner Alibaba-owned Ant Financial. 

About TrueMoney:

TrueMoney is a leading international Fintech brand and part of Ascend Money, a digital financial services venture of The Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) and Ant Financial (Alibaba), two of the largest companies in Asia. The TrueMoney group is now one of the largest financial life platforms in Southeast Asia. TrueMoney has grown its presence from just 1 market to 6 markets in a short space of time. TrueMoney currently has significant operations in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. TrueMoney currently has the largest regional agent network in SEA with 65,000 agents, as well as the largest payment volume with USD8 billion in 2019. In addition, the TrueMoney wallet is the number 1 E-wallet in Thailand.