Running an online business from Cambodia

Whether you're a working stiff or a business owner yourself, this is the place to discuss all aspects of financing your drinking habit ;-)

NO BUSINESS SALES HERE PLEASE, WE HAVE A SECTION FOR THAT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS.
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fax
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by fax »

Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by AlanJohn »

Kammekor wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:06 am
jovial fucher wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 5:06 am
xandreu wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:26 pm
epidemiks wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:07 pm
Spigzy wrote:What is wrong with domestic payment gateway providers - Bongloy, iPay88, Pi Pay, Wing, TrueMoney, SmartLuy, etc?
Don't acleda and another bank (aba?) also have cc gateways?
Maybe they do but the most common payment method by far online is PayPal, and apparently you have to jump through hoops that are ablaze in order to get them to deal with Cambodian businesses.

As others have pointed out, it's much easier to set up a business elsewhere and simply run it from Cambodia.
So you are saying IF you have a lot of sales, Paypal will deal with you? Just want to understand correctly.

Have you been in contact with them?

I can't even access my Paypal account from this IP. I would love to know that even accessing the account is possible!
PayPal will deal with you if you can provide an address outside of Cambodia and you're able to identify yourself if you want to receive serious money (>= 2.500 if I recall well), and you need a bank account outside Cambodia to transfer the funds to.

You can access your PayPal account from a Cambodian IP address, that's no problem, but since I'm using a VPN with a European server things are more stable with PayPal.

If you run an online business from Cambodia I strongly recommend using a VPN service.
Yes, i am have used Paypal many times from outside cambodia through VPN with Cambodian IP address and i did not find any issues
monomial
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by monomial »

fax wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:19 am Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by rogerrabbit »

monomial wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:03 pm
fax wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:19 am Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
No, they don't accept individual accounts. And you need to have company officially registered in Cambodia. This is same with all Cambodian online payment platforms.

In Cambodia you are supposed to charge VAT always, doesn't matter you ship internationally or domestically.
monomial
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by monomial »

rogerrabbit wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:14 pm
monomial wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:03 pm
fax wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:19 am Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
No, they don't accept individual accounts. And you need to have company officially registered in Cambodia. This is same with all Cambodian online payment platforms.

In Cambodia you are supposed to charge VAT always, doesn't matter you ship internationally or domestically.
I guess you could say you always charge VAT. But there are 2 VAT rates. 10% for deliveries inside Cambodia and 0% for exports. So sure, you could call that charging VAT, but it 0% and you still need to have some way of distinguishing between domestic and exported shipments when you sell.

The bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.

From: https://www.tax.gov.kh/en/bvat.php
Rates of tax
The rates of VAT are as follows:

0% This rate applies only to goods exported from the Kingdom of Cambodia and services consumed outside Cambodia. Exports are defined as including international transportation of passengers and goods.
10% This standard rate applies to all supplies other than exports and non-taxable supplies.
rogerrabbit
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by rogerrabbit »

monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pm
rogerrabbit wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:14 pm
monomial wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:03 pm
fax wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:19 am Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
No, they don't accept individual accounts. And you need to have company officially registered in Cambodia. This is same with all Cambodian online payment platforms.

In Cambodia you are supposed to charge VAT always, doesn't matter you ship internationally or domestically.
I guess you could say you always charge VAT. But there are 2 VAT rates. 10% for deliveries inside Cambodia and 0% for exports. So sure, you could call that charging VAT, but it 0% and you still need to have some way of distinguishing between domestic and exported shipments when you sell.

The bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.

From: https://www.tax.gov.kh/en/bvat.php
Rates of tax
The rates of VAT are as follows:

0% This rate applies only to goods exported from the Kingdom of Cambodia and services consumed outside Cambodia. Exports are defined as including international transportation of passengers and goods.
10% This standard rate applies to all supplies other than exports and non-taxable supplies.
Seems the law has changed this year. Though there seem to be some cases when there is still 10% rate:
A Cambodian resident entity provides analysis and quality review on products to be exported outside of Cambodia. The 0% VAT rate does not apply since the services are performed and used in Cambodia before the products are exported. Therefore, the 10% standard VAT rate applies.
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/D ... ervice.pdf
monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pmThe bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.
Payway and other local payment gateway providers do support international credit cards so that is not a reason why you couldn't do international e-commerce from here.

Bookmebus and Camboticket for example has +$100k international sales each year.
monomial
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by monomial »

rogerrabbit wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 6:12 pm
monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pm
rogerrabbit wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:14 pm
monomial wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:03 pm
fax wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:19 am Forget PayPal. If you can qualify for Stripe then use it. If not, use ABA PayWay.

https://www.ababank.com/payway/
Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
No, they don't accept individual accounts. And you need to have company officially registered in Cambodia. This is same with all Cambodian online payment platforms.

In Cambodia you are supposed to charge VAT always, doesn't matter you ship internationally or domestically.
I guess you could say you always charge VAT. But there are 2 VAT rates. 10% for deliveries inside Cambodia and 0% for exports. So sure, you could call that charging VAT, but it 0% and you still need to have some way of distinguishing between domestic and exported shipments when you sell.

The bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.

From: https://www.tax.gov.kh/en/bvat.php
Rates of tax
The rates of VAT are as follows:

0% This rate applies only to goods exported from the Kingdom of Cambodia and services consumed outside Cambodia. Exports are defined as including international transportation of passengers and goods.
10% This standard rate applies to all supplies other than exports and non-taxable supplies.
Seems the law has changed this year. Though there seem to be some cases when there is still 10% rate:
A Cambodian resident entity provides analysis and quality review on products to be exported outside of Cambodia. The 0% VAT rate does not apply since the services are performed and used in Cambodia before the products are exported. Therefore, the 10% standard VAT rate applies.
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/D ... ervice.pdf
monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pmThe bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.
Payway and other local payment gateway providers do support international credit cards so that is not a reason why you couldn't do international e-commerce from here.

Bookmebus and Camboticket for example has +$100k international sales each year.
They don't support individuals though. You must have a registered company.

Cambodia needs a genuine PayPal like service. Payway is not usable for most people if they only accept juristic entities.
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by rogerrabbit »

monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 6:48 pm
rogerrabbit wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 6:12 pm
monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pm
rogerrabbit wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:14 pm
monomial wrote: Wed Dec 18, 2019 10:03 pm

Does anyone know if PayWay will accept individual accounts, or must you have a registered juristic entity to use them? Also, how do they deal with VAT? If you are shipping internationally, is it still charged?

I attempted to find the information on their website, but it is absolutely useless. Not even a contact email. Just a form that asks for details about my "business" that I am not ready to provide until they tell me what kinds of businesses they are willing to service.
No, they don't accept individual accounts. And you need to have company officially registered in Cambodia. This is same with all Cambodian online payment platforms.

In Cambodia you are supposed to charge VAT always, doesn't matter you ship internationally or domestically.
I guess you could say you always charge VAT. But there are 2 VAT rates. 10% for deliveries inside Cambodia and 0% for exports. So sure, you could call that charging VAT, but it 0% and you still need to have some way of distinguishing between domestic and exported shipments when you sell.

The bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.

From: https://www.tax.gov.kh/en/bvat.php
Rates of tax
The rates of VAT are as follows:

0% This rate applies only to goods exported from the Kingdom of Cambodia and services consumed outside Cambodia. Exports are defined as including international transportation of passengers and goods.
10% This standard rate applies to all supplies other than exports and non-taxable supplies.
Seems the law has changed this year. Though there seem to be some cases when there is still 10% rate:
A Cambodian resident entity provides analysis and quality review on products to be exported outside of Cambodia. The 0% VAT rate does not apply since the services are performed and used in Cambodia before the products are exported. Therefore, the 10% standard VAT rate applies.
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/D ... ervice.pdf
monomial wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pmThe bigger problem is that there is absolutely no financial institution that will support individuals in Cambodia who want to engage in international e-commerce. We need some kind of PayPal like equivalent here. Just doesn't exist as far as I can tell.
Payway and other local payment gateway providers do support international credit cards so that is not a reason why you couldn't do international e-commerce from here.

Bookmebus and Camboticket for example has +$100k international sales each year.
They don't support individuals though. You must have a registered company.

Cambodia needs a genuine PayPal like service. Payway is not usable for most people if they only accept juristic entities.
If you want to do serious business, you need to have registered business somewhere with Paypal too. Your personal Paypal account will be frozen if you start to get thousands of dollars frequently.
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by monomial »

rogerrabbit wrote: Fri Dec 20, 2019 11:37 pm ...

If you want to do serious business, you need to have registered business somewhere with Paypal too. Your personal Paypal account will be frozen if you start to get thousands of dollars frequently.
Sorry. I'm going to trim back the quotes a little bit. That was getting too long.

Most people who want to do ecommerce are going to start out doing a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month. This is the most common regime and in fact is the market PayPal was originally created to serve. It takes a long time to build up to big volumes, and requring people to spend thousands of dollars to register and maintain a juristic entity is just not practical for the vast majority.

Sure. There are many options for "serious" businesses. Serious business also don't need PayPal though. They can afford to incorporate a US subsidiary and get a merchant account from there, and the lower processing fees would probably make that worthwhile. I'm talking about a genuine solution for small, ecommerce operators. That is what is missing in this country. PayWay is not simply not usable as it is constructed. There needs to be a genuine, PayPal like service if international ecommerce is ever to take off in the KoW.
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Re: Running an online business from Cambodia

Post by pczz »

xandreu wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:03 pm I'm not looking to do business in Cambodia itself. I just need somewhere to register and run it from. Obviously, as I live in Cambodia, I assumed this would be the natural place to do it, but after a lot of research, basically, it's not.
look into setting up business in Hong Kong or Estonia
I have registered for the e-residency but it takes about 2 months to organise and then the closest place to collect the e-residency pack is China. (They do list Singapore but they say they only deliver to there 3-4 times per year)

Estonia does seem like the best option however.

How does someone legally live in Cambodia while running an international online business (so you're not actually working in Cambodia)? Surely it's not just a case of registering and obtaining a work permit as self employed?
Wieird. if you LIVE in cambodia and you are running a business while living here then you ARE working here. Why do you think that you banging away at your keyboard in phnom Penh is not working? Doesn't matter where the business is you are working in Cambodia. And yes, it is a s simple as registering as a sole trader. if you dont wnat your customers to know where you are get a phone number with another country code. you can do that in most of Europe, or use a Skype number and a vpn so everyone thinks your emails are from Bulgaria or wherever you want them to think you are
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