Doc67 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:50 am I have been noticing this a lot recently, lots of 5k and 20k riel notes appearing where 1's and 5's were the norm. Got to be on the ball when checking your change. Thank god for ABA's QR code pay, the more places that go cashless the better.

Does anybody know the cut-off date or if there will be a transition period during which you can pay them into a bank? Or will it just happen overnight and we'll be left with a fistful of them?

There is no deadline. The NBC gave all commercial banks and MFIs until Aug 31 to return old $1 and $5 bills so it can transport them to out of Cambodia. After Aug 31, that cost of exporting the notes has been transferred to the commercial banks and MFIs. Thats why you have seen a bit of a rush and an increasing reluctance of accepting such notes.

They’ll still be valid but since it banks will surely start passing costs for returning worn notes on, they will be less and less liked.

I have now a stack of those “rare” 15K notes that I have been receiving lately and I’m reluctant to spend them because they are so “rare”

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:16 am does anyone really care?
a $1, $5 is still $1, $5
not like they are going to be unusable

fuck just carry 5,000 & 20,000 riel notes
and give 1,000 riel tips instead of $1

It's actually a pain in the @ss. Buy something worth a dollar, they won't accept a one dollar bill, and then you have to cough up 4,100 r which is a real pain because no one likes those 100r notes outside of Phnom Penh.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:30 am

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:16 am does anyone really care?
a $1, $5 is still $1, $5
not like they are going to be unusable

fuck just carry 5,000 & 20,000 riel notes
and give 1,000 riel tips instead of $1

It's actually a pain in the @ss. Buy something worth a dollar, they won't accept a one dollar bill, and then you have to cough up 4,100 r which is a real pain because no one likes those 100r notes outside of Phnom Penh.

Even if they are right to charge more in khr i would just avoid those places out of convenience. Why but a coke in a minimart when i can do it om street where 1 USD is 4k riel as usual.

If you have a Khmer lady in your life or a mate does...give her $100us and have her take it to a Khmer exchange and turn it into Riel and get back the extra 10,000 Riel...or split it into 50us and Riel and get back the extra 5,000 Riel.
This is what I do.
I have a divider in my wallet..US in the front, Riel in the back.
The 100 Riel notes I give to the Pagoda...Save them for holidays like this week....
If money is tight and the 100 Riels are important to your budget than separate them into bundles, like wise with 500 Riel notes..
I typically give my wife 500s and 100s and she saves them for holidays.
If you ever have been to Pagodas with many poor people you can have a little to give each one of them.
But, just like in any country where coins exist and we all have a can full, there comes a time to change them in be it hard times or just pure weight.
I keep 10,000--5,000 and 1,000 notes and sometimes 20,000...
Just get in the habit and it is no sweat me malt maties...
Cheers

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:48 am why do they not put ALL prices in Riel so there is a set riel price rather than the price is $1.50 and you need pay 6,300, 6,150, 6,200...... riel?
that way the price does not fluctuate.
All other countries, even small Laos & Bhutan, only use their own currency

I think that’s the end goal.
Those countries didn’t have a civil war and get UNTAC involved and introduce the $.

Albror wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 9:27 pm

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:30 am

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:16 am does anyone really care?
a $1, $5 is still $1, $5
not like they are going to be unusable

fuck just carry 5,000 & 20,000 riel notes
and give 1,000 riel tips instead of $1

It's actually a pain in the @ss. Buy something worth a dollar, they won't accept a one dollar bill, and then you have to cough up 4,100 r which is a real pain because no one likes those 100r notes outside of Phnom Penh.

Even if they are right to charge more in khr i would just avoid those places out of convenience. Why but a coke in a minimart when i can do it om street where 1 USD is 4k riel as usual.

Don't worry, where I live there are no minimarts. Still some stuff is priced in USD.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:30 am

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:16 am does anyone really care?
a $1, $5 is still $1, $5
not like they are going to be unusable

fuck just carry 5,000 & 20,000 riel notes
and give 1,000 riel tips instead of $1

It's actually a pain in the @ss. Buy something worth a dollar, they won't accept a one dollar bill, and then you have to cough up 4,100 r which is a real pain because no one likes those 100r notes outside of Phnom Penh.

Where do you get this problem ? Every shop I go to gives and excepts 1 and 5 dollars, these include the shops in Sorya Mall, including Luck's. Thai Huat and various shops around Central Market accept small notes. All my local shops around my Condo in Chroy Changvar, from local stalls to the larger chain stores give and accept dollar notes. My local bank gives out five dollar notes, but they are sometimes out of small notes. The very few people I have asked about this problem look at me surprised and have never heard about it.

Kuroneko wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:55 am

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:30 am

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:16 am does anyone really care?
a $1, $5 is still $1, $5
not like they are going to be unusable

fuck just carry 5,000 & 20,000 riel notes
and give 1,000 riel tips instead of $1

It's actually a pain in the @ss. Buy something worth a dollar, they won't accept a one dollar bill, and then you have to cough up 4,100 r which is a real pain because no one likes those 100r notes outside of Phnom Penh.

Where do you get this problem ? Every shop I go to gives and excepts 1 and 5 dollars, these include the shops in Sorya Mall, including Luck's. Thai Huat and various shops around Central Market accept small notes. All my local shops around my Condo in Chroy Changvar, from local stalls to the larger chain stores give and accept dollar notes. My local bank gives out five dollar notes, but they are sometimes out of small notes. The very few people I have asked about this problem look at me surprised and have never heard about it.

Living in Ratanakiri. Most shops stopped accepting 1$ bills and 100r notes are hard to find here, but some shops insist on them now if doing a 1$ purchase.

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Thu Sep 17, 2020 7:48 am why do they not put ALL prices in Riel so there is a set riel price rather than the price is $1.50 and you need pay 6,300, 6,150, 6,200...... riel?
that way the price does not fluctuate.
All other countries, even small Laos & Bhutan, only use their own currency

Most local shops charge prices in riel, but larger businesses like supermarkets, mini-marts, many restaurants in Phnom Penh price things in USD. If you don't pay in USD then they have a rate that they expect you to pay in Khmer riel, could be 4,100 or 4,200.

And then even if you do pay in USD, they often don't have change in USD and give you back Khmer riel at a rate of 4000 to 1 USD. It's a bit of a scam at this point. Example you should get change of $7 and they give it to you all in riel.

Personally I doubt the Cambodian government plans to de-dollarize, as they would lose a lot of advantages of the hot money inflows from places like China, other wealthy countries in Asia. Despite the head of the National Bank of Cambodia frequently piping up to advocate for de-dollarization, I suspect there's someone else in government who doesn't think its such a great idea.