Visa Study Shows Card Use Growing among Cambodians, Fueling Financial Inclusion
AKP Phnom Penh, July 27, 2023 --

Visa, a world leader in digital payments, announced that its latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study shows Cambodian consumers are gradually becoming more familiar with the benefits of using credit/debit cards, a key gateway to financial inclusion into the formal economy.

According to a Visa’s news release, the study showed that while cash usage is still widespread in Cambodia, the use of credit/debit cards for payment is growing in popularity, with 35 percent of survey respondents saying they currently use them. Interest in contactless cards in particular is growing, up to 58 percent from 42 percent in 2021, while 9 percent of survey respondents said they currently use contactless cards for payment.

For those who use credit/debit cards, the study showed frequency of usage is growing. 78 percent of contactless card users say they use them at least once a week, up from 37 percent in 2020, while use by card swipe/insert (52 percent from 36 percent in 2020) and online (77 percent from 43 percent in 2020) also increased. Among survey respondents that have credit/debit cards and e-wallets, 63 percent said they prefer to use cards, with the top reasons for their preference being that cards are faster, more convenient and easier to carry around.

Digital payments are often the first formal financial product a person uses, and serve as a pathway to financial inclusion. About half the adult world lives in the informal economy, dealing exclusively in cash and facing barriers that make life risky, expensive and inefficient. Financial inclusion helps put people on a path out of poverty, creates productive empowered citizens, fosters business opportunities and fuels economic growth.

Credit cards can offer a better value proposition for consumers in terms of flexibility of repayment, building a positive credit history and digital transparency. As consumers increasingly seek the convenience and security of digital payment, businesses that can provide cashless options are often rewarded with larger, more loyal customer bases.

Along with credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) plans give banks a tool to support customers who face adversity with short-term financing, allowing customers to transition to other forms of credit and helping them build their credit history and financial stability. In other countries/territories, banks have successfully used BNPL for credit provisioning and credit inclusion.

Cambodians said they use BNPL plans mostly in-store (58 percent) or on e-Commerce websites (52 percent), and decide to use BNPL while shopping (53 percent), during check out (46 percent) or before shopping (40 percent). The average number of BNPL plans used by survey respondents in the last two years is high at 6.6 – mostly in categories such as travel, health & beauty and home appliances.

Visa is constantly looking for ways to promote digital payment usage in Cambodia to empower consumers with secure and convenient customer experiences. For instance, Visa recently partnered with Cambodia’s Cellcard and Singapore’s MyCLNQ to launch Cellcard’s E-Heath Service, which provides quality health care accessible by mobile phone. E-Health Service is initially bundled with Cellcard’s Tourist SIM, and visitors to Cambodia can save 10 percent on the service and medical bills by purchasing the service with their Visa cards.

“We applaud the government and organizations for playing a key role in delivering public financial literacy education to enable Cambodians to build their knowledge and trust in the financial sector,” added Ms. Tranchini. “Digital innovation in the credit landscape presents an exciting opportunity for financial inclusion and progress towards a more transparent and sustainable ecosystem.”
By C. Nika
- AKP