ACLEDA Bank Plc., Cambodia’s first publicly listed commercial bank, signed a landmark partnership on Dec. 4 with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), at its headquarters in Phnom Penh.
ACLEDA Bank, nominated by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) as the operator for Cambodia’s national QR network (Bakong/KHQR), will work with NIPL to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance across Cambodia and KHQR acceptance across India.
Seamless Payments for Tourists and Businesses
The partnership will offer Indian and Cambodian travelers the convenience of making QR code-based payments seamlessly across tourist attractions, restaurants, retail outlets, and other establishments.
Accessing 4.5 Million KHQR Merchants in Cambodia
- Indian tourists in Cambodia will be able to use their UPI-enabled apps to make merchant payments easily at more than 4.5 million KHQR merchant touch points.
Accessing 709 Million UPI QRs in India
- Cambodian tourists in India will be able to scan more than 709 million UPI QRs to make merchant payments conveniently using their Cambodian payment apps.
The collaboration supports businesses in both countries by offering a secure, interoperable, and frictionless payment experience, significantly enhancing convenience for consumers in both markets.
Driving Digital Interoperability and Trade
This collaboration represents an important step toward regional payment interoperability, aligning with ASEAN’s vision of advancing inclusive digital economies. This will empower customers with fast, affordable, and secure cross-border options that boost trade and tourism for both nations.
Under the NBC’s initiative, Cambodia and India initiated the digital cross-border payment framework to enable more convenient and efficient payment and money transfer transactions. A key focus is to promote the use of the national currency between Cambodia and India.
Projected Launch: Semester 2 of 2026
Following the March 2023 MoU between NBC and NIPL, and ACLEDA’s selection as a sponsoring Bank, the two parties are now jointly developing the QR payment systems, which is currently undergoing network integration. The cross-border payment launch is projected for Semester 2 of 2026.
Ritesh Shukla, MD & CEO, NPCI International, stated that the partnership reflects their commitment to expanding secure, inclusive, and scalable digital payments on a global scale, making travel simpler and empowering consumers with trusted and familiar payment options.