NovCambodia's dollarised economy: what it gives a buyer — and what it does not protect you from
Cambodia is often summed up in one line: "everything is in dollars there." For a property buyer that matters, but it is far too short. The US dollar is widely used in asking prices, bank deposits, large transactions and rents. At the same time the riel remains the national currency, part of your running costs may be billed in KHR, and the National Bank of Cambodia is actively promoting riel usage and domestic digital payments. So the practical question is not whether Cambodia is "a dollar country", but which currency each of your obligations and each of your income streams is fixed in.
The short version that survives scrutiny: dollarisation simplifies the model for someone whose capital is already in USD and reduces direct exposure to the riel. It does not guarantee that the apartment holds its price, that it rents, that a bank transfer clears, that funds can be repatriated, or that you can exit quickly.
What the official data shows
In its Financial Stability Review 2024 the National Bank of Cambodia noted that financial dollarisation remains high. According to that review, in 2024 the ratio of foreign-currency deposits to broad money stood at 85.1%, and foreign-currency deposits made up around 90.9% of all deposits.
Those figures confirm the scale on which foreign currency is used within the financial system. They do not mean that:
- every contract will necessarily be written in USD;
- every payment can be made in cash dollars;
- every bank will open an account for a foreigner;
- a transfer from any country will clear without additional checks;
- all taxes and utility bills will be issued in USD;
- the exchange rate or the purchasing power of the dollar will stay as it is.
At the same time the regulator promotes settlement in riel and is developing national payment services. It is sensible to treat the system as heavily dollarised but bi-currency in everyday practice. The practical, day-to-day side is covered in our guide to using dollars and riel in Cambodia.
Where a buyer meets the currency question
| Stage | What to check |
|---|---|
| Price list and reservation | Currency of the price, how long it is held, the conversion rule, refundability |
| SPA | Currency of the obligation, method of payment, the rate applied if you pay in another currency |
| Instalments | Currency of each payment, bank charges, the ultimate recipient |
| Handover | Final payment, fees, furniture package, service charge |
| Rent | Currency of the lease, the deposit, utilities, indexation |
| Management | Fee, minor repairs, spending limits without approval |
| Taxes and registration | The currency of assessment and the official conversion base |
| Sale | Currency of the price, how you receive the money, costs and conversion |
A price in USD makes comparison easier, not products equal
When several projects quote in one currency it is easier to compare the total price, the price per unit of comparable area, the size of the first payment, the weight of the payment schedule, the cost of furnishing, the assumed rent and the exit scenario. That convenience is real and worth having.
But a shared currency does not make the products the same. Two identical figures can mean entirely different things: a studio at excavation stage and a finished unit with keys, different legal rights, a different way of measuring area, a different specification, a different wait before the first income, and a different level of risk. Currency standardises the scale, not the substance.
"Priced in dollars" has to be written into the document
A marketing price list is not a contract. The reservation form and the SPA should make unambiguous:
- the exact amount and the currency of the obligation;
- the payment dates;
- the bank details of the recipient;
- who is permitted to pay;
- who bears the bank charges;
- whether the obligation is discharged on the date of sending or the date of receipt;
- what happens if compliance checks cause a delay;
- whether an exchange rate applies if you pay in another currency, and under what formula;
- how a refund is processed and in which currency it is returned.
Never send money simply because the amount and the project logo look familiar. The recipient must match the contractual structure or have a documented basis for receiving the payment.
Transfer charges and changed bank details: where a shortfall begins
In an international MT103 payment, charge allocation is carried as OUR, SHA or BEN. Those codes communicate how charges are intended to be borne, but the amount shown on the sender's instruction is not automatically the amount the seller will credit under the SPA. The contract and the invoice should state whether the full invoiced amount must arrive without deductions and who has to make up any shortfall caused by an intermediary bank.
Before sending, ask the bank to confirm the charge option, currency, amount and remittance information. After sending, retain the MT103 or equivalent bank confirmation and the UETR. Ask the seller for a receipt and an updated balance against the payment schedule, so an unnoticed charge does not quietly become an overdue amount.
If the bank, account number, beneficiary or currency changes after signing, treat that as a change to the payment route rather than a routine message. Require a signed notice from the contractual party, verify it through a contact channel already known to you, and obtain a fresh invoice carrying the matching legal name; a messenger message or an email from a new address is not sufficient on its own.
What the dollar reduces and what remains
What can fall away is the direct exposure of your core model to a depreciation of the riel — provided the price and the rent really are expressed in USD. You also avoid having to forecast the riel over the long run for your main cash flow, and comparison with other dollar-denominated assets becomes simpler.
Everything else stays: market risk, the risk of the specific building and micro-location, developer and delay risk, tenant and vacancy risk, management risk, the risk that taxes change, banking and AML/KYC risk, the risk of limited liquidity, the risk that the purchasing power of the dollar itself shifts, the risk that some costs rise faster than rent, and the risk of a discount on sale.
The accurate formulation is not "the dollar protects your asset" but this: the main cash flow may be expressed in USD, which makes the currency structure clearer — while capital preservation still depends on the legal position, the project, demand, costs and the exit. The wider risk map is set out in the investor guide.
A contract in USD is not the same as income in USD
The rent stated in a lease is not yet clean dollar income. Out of it come vacancy between tenants, agency commission, the manager's fee, the service charge, utilities where the owner pays them, cleaning and minor repairs, appliance replacement, insurance, tax, bank charges, furniture renewal, and the discount you give on renewal.
So a model should always show two flows: the amount the tenant pays, and the amount that actually reached the owner after every deduction. The gap between them is not a detail — it is precisely what separates an advertised yield from a realised one.
Everyday costs can be mixed
Even where the property is priced in dollars, some costs may be billed in riel or converted at the prevailing rate. Check separately: electricity, water, internet, local transport, minor repairs, purchases for the apartment, government fees, wages of local staff, the management company's fee, and any cash settlements.
In the financial model it helps to keep four distinct lines: USD fixed, USD variable, KHR variable and currency to confirm. That last line exists for honesty: at the buying stage some costs genuinely are not confirmed yet.
Currency risk also depends on your home currency
If your capital is already in USD the advantage is at its clearest: fewer conversions of the principal. You still have to count the charges, evidence the source of funds and allow for mixed costs.
If your income is in euros, roubles, baht or another currency, a USD instalment plan creates a gap between the currency you earn in and the currency you owe in. Even a zero-interest schedule offers no protection if your income currency weakens against the dollar over the payment period.
If the rent is in USD while some costs are in riel, the net flow depends on two currencies and on how costs move. The model should carry a range, not a single fixed rent.
The bank transfer is a separate process
Widespread use of USD does not mean any foreign buyer will automatically open an account or move any amount. Before you reserve, establish: whether a local account is required; whether you can pay the developer directly; what documents the sending bank will ask for and what the receiving bank will ask for; whether payment from a spouse, a company or a third party is accepted; how the source of funds is evidenced; how long the checks take; how a refund is processed; and in what currency and to which account the proceeds of a future sale could arrive.
Your bank and your lawyer should comment on your specific route of funds. No general article can guarantee that compliance will clear.
Freedom to transfer currency is not an automatic bank approval
Cambodia's Law on Foreign Exchange covers commercial payments, transfers and capital flows. It does not impose a general prohibition on those foreign-exchange operations, but it requires them to pass through authorised intermediaries; on the Cambodian side, the law identifies banks permanently established in the country as those intermediaries. A statement that transfers are legally permitted is therefore not the same as confirmation that a particular bank will accept your transaction.
Before paying a non-refundable reservation amount, show your bank the draft SPA or reservation form, the invoice, the beneficiary's legal name, the destination bank and country, the currency, the payment purpose and the identity of the actual payer. Ask for a written document list and any route-specific restrictions, not a promise that the transfer is guaranteed to clear; final checks may still take place when the payment is processed.
Cash dollars should not be the basis of a large transaction
Even though USD is accepted in daily life, a large payment must leave a documentary trail: an invoice, bank confirmation, a receipt, a payment reference, a link to the contract and the specific unit, confirmation of the recipient, and a reconciliation of payments.
Cash settlement raises the risk of dispute, error and missing evidence — and at exit it is exactly that documentary trail that evidences how much you brought in and when. Confirm the permitted method of payment with your bank and lawyer.
A separate rule applies if a buyer physically carries money into or out of Cambodia: the Law on Foreign Exchange requires a traveller to declare means of payment of USD 10,000 or more in foreign currency, or the equivalent in riel, to Customs at the border. A declaration does not make a cash property payment safe and does not replace source-of-funds evidence; keep it with the bank cash-deposit receipt and the document trail leading to the particular invoice and SPA, and confirm the current procedure with Customs and the bank before travelling.
A currency checklist for the SPA
Before signing, highlight in the contract: contract price; payment currency; exchange-rate clause; bank charges; late-payment treatment; refund currency; refund deadline; rent currency; service charge currency; tax responsibility; sale proceeds; and the governing language where versions diverge.
If the contract lets the seller change the currency or the rate unilaterally without a transparent formula, your cash flow cannot be treated as fixed — however confident the number on the price list looks.
A technical outage should not automatically become a payment default
The National Bank of Cambodia's Financial Stability Review 2025 notes that the expansion of digital and real-time payments increases operational and cyber risks, and that a serious disruption can delay settlement and contribute to contractual defaults. For a buyer, a mobile-app status saying that money was sent is not the same event as credit reaching the beneficiary by the contractual deadline.
The SPA should say what happens during a confirmed bank or payment-system outage: which proof of instruction is accepted, how quickly the buyer must notify the seller, whether penalties are suspended, and how much time is allowed to retry the payment. There is no universal grace period for every project, so paying on the last day is risky and the protection needs to be written into the contract.
Currency at the exit
Before you go in, understand: in what currency a future buyer will be able to pay; which account the proceeds land in; which documents will evidence your original inflow of funds; which taxes and costs are deducted; whether conversion is needed; how long a bank review may take; whether the money can be moved to your own jurisdiction; and which rules will be in force on the date you exit.
The seller of the property and the bank are responsible for different parts of that process. Get written explanations for both, rather than verbal assurance about one. What a foreigner may own, and the limits of it, is covered separately in foreign ownership in Cambodia.
What to request from NovAsia or the seller
- the current price list, with its date;
- the reservation form;
- the draft SPA;
- the payment schedule;
- official bank details;
- the invoice;
- a list of costs due at handover;
- the basis and currency of the service charge;
- a sample management report;
- the refund terms and refund currency;
- a description of how sale proceeds are received;
- a written explanation of every exchange-rate provision in the contract.
Want the currency structure of a deal checked? We will go through the price list, the payment schedule and the currency clauses with you, so you know which currency each obligation is fixed in.
Ask about your dealTelegramFrequently asked questions
Is the US dollar Cambodia's official currency?
No. The national currency is the Cambodian riel. The US dollar is nevertheless widely used across the financial system and in private dealings, including property transactions. What decides your case is not a general description of the country but the wording of your contract, which must state explicitly which currency the obligation is expressed in.
Does dollarisation remove currency risk?
No. It reduces the direct exposure of your main cash flow to the riel, provided the price and the rent really are expressed in USD. What remains is the risk of your own home currency, the risk of costs that may be billed in riel, banking and compliance risk, inflation, and the risk attached to the price of the asset itself.
Can rent in USD be treated as clean income?
No. Vacancy, agency commission, management, the service charge, utilities where the owner pays them, cleaning and repairs, taxes and bank charges all come out of the headline rent. Model two separate flows: what the tenant pays, and what actually reaches the owner.
Do I need a bank account in Cambodia?
That depends on how you buy, how the property is managed, and how you plan to receive income and future sale proceeds. Widespread use of the dollar does not mean an account will be opened automatically or that any transfer will clear without checks. Confirm the route of funds with the bank and an adviser before you reserve.
Can a KHR payment discharge an obligation fixed in USD?
Yes, but only where the SPA permits that method and defines the rate source, the date or moment of fixing, rounding, charges and the point at which the obligation is discharged. The seller's receipt should show the KHR amount received, the rate applied, the USD equivalent credited and the precise remaining balance. The bank's conversion rate does not by itself amend the formula in the contract.
What should be documented if a spouse, company or other third party pays?
Obtain the seller's written consent and the bank's document requirements before the transfer. The payment file should connect the payer, the buyer, the specific unit and the invoice through identity or authority documents, the payment basis and source-of-funds evidence. Record separately who is entitled to a refund and which account may receive it, because the bank or seller may require funds to return to the original payer.
Sources
National Bank of Cambodia, Financial Stability Review 2024 — the 2024 dollarisation indicators (foreign-currency deposits as a share of broad money and of total deposits). · National Bank of Cambodia, official materials on the payment system and riel promotion. · The contractual documents of the specific project — for the currency of the price and the payments. · Bank and tax confirmations — for the route of funds and mandatory payments. · Prepared by NovAsia, checked July 2026.
What is not confirmed here: the dollarisation indicators are stated as at 2024 and shift from one review to the next — check them against the latest NBC review at the date of your transaction. A requirement to denominate property prices in USD, an obligation on a bank to open an account for a foreigner, and any guaranteed procedure or timeline for repatriating funds are not confirmed in this review: those are set by your contract, by the individual bank's policy, and by the regulation in force on the date of the deal. This content is for general information only and is not banking, currency, tax or legal advice.