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Does anyone run an online business from Cambodia? I've been looking into it and it seems a lot more hassle than its worth.

One of the main issues is finding a payment gateway provider. None of them seem to want to know as soon as you say that your business in based in Cambodia. After some research, I read that Cambodia is on some sort of international finance blacklist (I forget the formal name) which means almost all financial institutions won't do business with any company based here.

Anyone had any luck with this?

Why base it here? It'll probably indeed harm your reputation. Not even thinking about the hassle of actually starting a legal business here and dealing with all kinds of government offices, difficulties getting getting paid etc etc.

You can start your business anywhere in the world, and just work from Cambodia. Most countries have lax income tax laws if you run a business there but don't live there.

What is wrong with domestic payment gateway providers - Bongloy, iPay88, Pi Pay, Wing, TrueMoney, SmartLuy, etc?

Spigzy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:12 pm What is wrong with domestic payment gateway providers - Bongloy, iPay88, Pi Pay, Wing, TrueMoney, SmartLuy, etc?

For domestic or international use?

I assume OP wants to go international.

In my business I don't offer any of those providers as a service, because none of my customers uses them, customers don't like to subscribe to new services just to buy something from you. Payments must be smooth and easy, or you'll lose revenue.

xandreu wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:50 pm Does anyone run an online business from Cambodia? I've been looking into it and it seems a lot more hassle than its worth.

One of the main issues is finding a payment gateway provider. None of them seem to want to know as soon as you say that your business in based in Cambodia. After some research, I read that Cambodia is on some sort of international finance blacklist (I forget the formal name) which means almost all financial institutions won't do business with any company based here.

Anyone had any luck with this?

Why it needs to be based in Cambodia? Because of visa/work permits? You sell something for cambodians? If you don't sell locally then just don't do it. You save lot of money and headaches if you don't. If you have international online business, look into setting up business in Hong Kong or Estonia. Much easier and saves you a lot of money (setting up fees & taxes).

And no, you will not have any luck with major international payment gateway providers. They will not send money to Cambodia banks or do business with Cambodian companies.

Edit. If you really want to do it based Cambodia, and credit cards are enough then check ABA's Payway. It works for local/international payments and accept Visa & Mastercard. But if you use any local payment gateway you have to your business registered officially here and have the all the needed licenses from ministries.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:15 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:12 pm What is wrong with domestic payment gateway providers - Bongloy, iPay88, Pi Pay, Wing, TrueMoney, SmartLuy, etc?

For domestic or international use?

I assume OP wants to go international.

In my business I don't offer any of those providers as a service, because none of my customers uses them, customers don't like to subscribe to new services just to buy something from you. Payments must be smooth and easy, or you'll lose revenue.

But the first three or four of those can also process Mastercard, Visa, AliPay, WeChatPay, etc. - what international payment are we looking at, Diner's Club?

Spigzy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:39 pm

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:15 pm

Spigzy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 4:12 pm What is wrong with domestic payment gateway providers - Bongloy, iPay88, Pi Pay, Wing, TrueMoney, SmartLuy, etc?

For domestic or international use?

I assume OP wants to go international.

In my business I don't offer any of those providers as a service, because none of my customers uses them, customers don't like to subscribe to new services just to buy something from you. Payments must be smooth and easy, or you'll lose revenue.

But the first three or four of those can also process Mastercard, Visa, AliPay, WeChatPay, etc. - what international payment are we looking at, Diner's Club?

Looked into Bongloy briefly. It's a Stripe clone with access to the Cambodian financial institutions.

Fees:
2.9% + 0,20 commission.
Pays out weekly.

Not competitive in an international market. Imagine the fees for a 30k job done.

If you want to run a reputable international business using a Cambodian API is not going to support your busines. But just my 2 cents.

If you run a business from Cambodia it might be a useful though limited tool. I'm not going to switch.

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?

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?

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.