Travelex has partnered with the National Bank of Cambodia to start trading Cambodia’s national currency, the Cambodian riel (KHR), at Singapore’s Changi Airport.
Travelex will initially trade KHR in Terminals 2 and 3 at Changi. Both Cambodia Angkor Air and, since 2022, Cambodia Airways fly between Cambodia and Changi.
Customers will be able to buy and sell Cambodian riel at Changi, in exchange for a wide range of currencies including the Singaporean dollar, US dollar, Australian dollar, European euro and Japanese yen. Travelex’s investment in the Cambodian riel and its decision to trade the currency mean the riel is now available to be traded with other currencies in Singapore for the very first time.
In recent years, the Cambodian central bank has been working to promote the KHR as a means of improving its monetary policy effectiveness to ensure sustained economic growth and stability. Earlier in 2023, the National Bank of Cambodia also expanded the use of KHR in international markets by connecting the bank’s blockchain-based Bakong payment system to other central banks and major commercial payment system providers following a successful payment system integration with Thailand.
The partnership comes just weeks after the National Bank of Cambodia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) entered into a memorandum of understanding to jointly create a Financial Transparency Corridor initiative, which aims to establish digital infrastructure to facilitate trade and cross-border financial services between SMEs in Singapore and Cambodia.
Dragon Wan, commercial director at Travelex Asia, said, “We’re delighted to be supporting Cambodia’s national currency and wider economy by enabling the exchange of riels at Changi Airport. Providing riel at Changi will, first and foremost, afford travelers traveling both to and from Cambodia greater convenience in exchanging riel than ever before. We are also really proud to be playing our part in Cambodia’s journey in raising the riel’s impact and availability.”
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