PHNOM PENH: ACLEDA Bank Plc., the first publicly listed commercial bank in Cambodia, signed on Dec. 4 a partnership 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 has been nominated as the operator for Cambodia’s national QR network, Bakong (KHQR) by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and will work with NIPL to enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) acceptance across Cambodia and KHQR acceptance across India.
The partnership will offer Indian & Cambodian travellers the convenience of making QR code-based payments seamlessly across tourist attractions, restaurants, retail outlets and other establishments.
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.
Similarly, 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 will support businesses in both countries by offering a secure, interoperable, and frictionless payment experience via UPI and KHQR, significantly enhancing convenience for consumers in both markets.
Dr. In Channy, President & Group Managing Director of ACLEDA Bank, said that the Service Agreement formalises the technical and operational framework for interconnecting NPCI’s UPI (Unified Payments Interface) network with ACLEDA Bank’s KHQR ecosystem.
“This network-to-network setup will ensure secure, interoperable payments, allowing Indian consumers and businesses to use their mobile devices to scan QR codes from Cambodian merchants for payment,” he said.
In addition, this collaboration represents an important step toward regional payment interoperability, aligning with ASEAN’s vision of advancing inclusive digital economies and fostering financial innovation in digital payments, empowering their 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 have 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. On March 2023, NBC and NIPL signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to enable cross-border payments between Cambodia and India.
In May 2023, NBC selected ACLEDA Bank Plc. as a sponsoring Bank for this collaboration with NPCI International Payment Limited (NIPL).
Following the signing of the agreement, ACLEDA Bank and NIPL are now jointly developing the QR payment systems which is currently undergoing network integration. It is projected to launch the QR cross border payment between Cambodia and India (India QR UPI scans KHQR) in Semester 2 of 2026.
In the near future, ACLEDA Bank and NIPL will partner with additional banks to integrate QR Code payment systems, enabling their customers to access cross-border payments between Cambodia and India. This partnership represents a significant milestone in global payment expansion outside ASEAN in addition to Japan, South Korea, China and so on, enhancing its position in the international digital payments ecosystem by facilitating smoother and faster, transactions for travellers, thereby fostering deeper connectivity between India and Cambodia and progressing toward a fully interoperable global payments network.”
Ritesh Shukla, MD & CEO, NPCI International, said that this partnership reflects our commitment to expanding secure, inclusive, and scalable digital payments on a global scale.
“Our partnership with ACLEDA Bank Plc. marks an important step in strengthening interoperable digital payment corridors between India and Cambodia. By enabling UPI and KHQR acceptance across both countries, we aim to make travel simpler and empower consumers with trusted and familiar payment options,” he said.