The two-day CamTech Summit 2024 kicked-off on the morning of September 18 at the Centre for Banking Studies (CBS) in Phnom Penh. The opening ceremony was presided over by H.E. Dr. Chea Serey, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), who emphasised the central bank’s commitment to fostering fintech adoption, innovation and fair competition in Cambodia, as outlined in the FinTech Development Roadmap 2020-2025.
Jointly organised by the Cambodian Association of Finance and Technology (CAFT) and the NBC, this year’s CamTech summit, now in its 5th edition, is being held under the theme ‘Fintech for All: Impact and Sustainability’.
“Our theme this year… speaks to the core of what we hope to achieve in our dynamic industry today,” said Remi Pell, Chairman of CAFT. “This year, our focus shifts from merely celebrating technological advancements to ensuring these innovations benefit everyone and remain sustainable in the long-term.”
Dr. Serey also concurred in her opening remarks that this theme helps reflect the NBC’s commitment to “a faster and more inclusive digital landscape”.
“When we discuss FinTech, it's crucial to understand that payment system infrastructure serves as a backbone to the entire ecosystem,” said Dr. Serey. “Not just a means of transaction, but the essential infrastructure enabling seamless transactions between consumers, businesses and financial institutions. Efficient payment systems facilitate trust, enhance user experience, and drive innovation by providing the necessary framework for various financial services to thrive."
National Bank Of Cambodia’s Crucial Dialogue And Partnership With The Private Sector
Dr. Serey stressed that the NBC is dedicated to fostering fintech adoption, innovation and fair competition, as outlined in the Fintech Development Roadmap 2020-2025. The roadmap works in conjunction with several other policies on digitalisation, and she said the NBC is eager to continue their close collaboration with the private sector to maximise the benefits of technological advancements for consumers.
The NBC governor acknowledged that the success and recognition of Bakong were due to the joint collaboration of the private sector and the NBC, serving as ‘good lessons learned’ for other initiatives. She was also candid about how the development of the Bakong payment system was ‘entering unknown territory’, but transparent dialogue and interaction between the regulator and the private sector was key to making it work.
“We didn’t know if it was going to be a success or if it was going to be a failure, but if we were in this together, then we had a higher chance of it being a success – that's how Bakong started. We designed everything together with the private sector,” she said.
I hope you (the private sector) will take the opportunity to talk to us about your concerns, about your challenges, and how we can help you, but also I hope that you understand our position; that we are here to protect the system, we are here to protect the customers, and we're not here to stifle any innovation. If you are transparent with us, we will be transparent with you, and we will help you
Another example Dr. Serey gave of how dialogue has been key to the development of Cambodia’s financial landscape was the establishment of the Credit Bureau of Cambodia (CBC) 12 years ago, which was initially met with some resistance.
Through dialogue, we managed to convince the private sector how important it was for Cambodia to have a privately run credit bureau, and as it is today, the CBC is now considered one of the most successful credit bureaus from an emerging economy.
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Modernising Payment Systems In Cambodia – Latest Developments From The NBC In 2024
Sharing some of the latest developments the NBC has made to modernise the payment system infrastructure in Cambodia, Dr. Serey underlined the following:
Bakong Tourists App
The first phase of the Bakong Tourists App was recently launched to enhance Cambodia’s tourism sector and allow international visitors to be able to make digital payments in the country without the need of a local bank account. Dr. Serey also confirmed that in the future, the app will allow users to link to credit cards for payments.
New Cross-Border Payment Collaboration Between Cambodia And Malaysia
The NBC has already successfully established cross-border payment partnerships with several countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, UnionPay International, and, most recently, JB Financial Group from South Korea.
Dr. Serey shared that tomorrow (September 19, 2024) the NBC will also be launching a new cross-border payment collaboration with Malaysia.
“Furthermore, we are actively working to strengthen connectivity with additional regional partners, including Singapore, China, India, Japan and the Philippines,” she said.
Merging The USD And KHR QR Codes – No Charges Incurred To Customers When Creating KHR Accounts
The NBC issued a guideline this week on September 17, 2024 requiring banks in Cambodia to open local currency (KHR) accounts for their customers, particularly those who don't already have local currency accounts, as this is necessary for the NBC’s development of a merged USD and KHR QR code.
Dr. Serey explained that while the NBC has already merged the QR codes of different banks into one, presently, there are still separate QR codes for USD and KHR payments, thus, the central bank is now working towards merging them together.
We have also instructed banks or deposit taking institutions to not charge their customers when opening local currency accounts. Whether it becomes inactive, whether [customers] want to close it, there shouldn't be any extra charges incurred to the customer to open this account.
Facial Recognition Payment System Being Developed
One announcement that was met with applause from the audience was the NBC’s development of a facial-recognition payment system in Cambodia that would allow users to make payments simply by smiling into a camera.
This is currently in progress, so hopefully [in the future], even if you forget your password, your face alone will be enough to make payment.
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Bolstering Support For Cambodian SMEs – Singapore Financial Transparency Corridor (FTC) And UTC
On June 28, 2024, the NBC announced the official launch of the financial transparency corridor (FTC) in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which Dr. Serey highlighted is part of the central bank’s ongoing effort to help Cambodian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) tackle challenges related to financial access.
“This initiative establishes a consent-based digital infrastructure and network between financial institutions in both countries aimed at facilitating increased trade and cross-border financial services for SMEs. The FTC will enhance data accessibility for financial institutions in Singapore and Cambodia, enabling better risk assessment,” she shared.
Furthermore, the NBC is also actively taking part in the universal trust credential (UTC) project initiated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the MAS. First announced at the Singapore FinTech festival in November 2023, the UTC aims to promote financial inclusion and simplify cross border transactions for MSMEs by leveraging digital credentials to address the financing gap due to collateral issues and high interest rates.
Dr. Serey explained that this enables banks under the UTC system, which is presently between Cambodia and Singapore, to better understand SMEs through secure information sharing. This way, if a company in Singapore is interested in investing in a Cambodian SME and applies for a line of credit at a Singaporean bank, the bank in Singapore can request the relevant information about the Cambodian SME from a partner bank in the Kingdom, thus making it easier for such cross-border investment deals to get done.
“So these are the kinds of initiatives that we are working on to help our SMEs, but also SMEs in Singapore. As we are partnered with the UN, member countries [under this framework] will be even more, so this is just the beginning stage. Hopefully we'll be able to roll it out soon, but this does not depend just on Cambodia, it depends on everyone’s participation,” she concluded.
Stay tuned for more of our coverage on CamTech Summit 2024.