PHNOM PENH: ACLEDA Bank Plc., “The bank you can trust, the bank for the people” hereby announces that it officially launches Cross-Border Payment via QR Code in Laos, Phase 1: Cambodia scans Laos QR code in order to promote the wide use of Khmer Riel for settlement in ASEAN region, and financial inclusion in line with the integration of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Dr. In Channy, President & Group Managing Director of ACLEDA Bank Plc., said that after the success of Bakong which ACLEDA Bank is a member and assigned as the sponsoring bank from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), ACLEDA Bank continues to expand its mission of the cross-border QR payment to the Lao People's Democratic Republic after successfully launching cross-border QR payment in Thailand and Vietnam.

ACLEDA Bank Plc. and ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd. are selected to be the Settlement Banks for Cross-Border Payment between Cambodia and Laos for accepting payments in local currency in each other (KHR vs LAK).

He added that this aims at promoting the payment between two countries and regions to support financial inclusion and ASEAN economic integration. Cross-Border Payment via QR code allows customers and the public to purchase goods and conduct payments in their own currency when traveling to neighboring countries by scanning QR codes more easily and securely.

This Digital system will make payments more convenient for tourists and firms while also strengthening the local currency of both countries, streamlining payment transactions, and reducing operating costs. Further, in the next step, the customer of all Bakong members will be able to pay in KHR from their mobile app in Laos and vice versa, Lao people will scan KHQR in Cambodia as well in the near future too.

Currently, ACLEDA Bank Plc. has 4 subsidiaries, they are ACLEDA Institute of Business, ACLEDA Securities Plc., ACLEDA Bank Lao Ltd., and ACLEDA MFI Myanmar Co., Ltd. as well as representative offices in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. By the End of June 2023, ACLEDA Bank had US$9.33 billion in total assets, US$6.40 billion in total credit balances, and US$6.78 billion in total savings deposits with over 3.86 million customers. As of the end of June 2023, the Bank has 2.96 million subscribers of ACLEDA Mobile and 0.27 million business partners.