Older USD bills accepted

[stevenjb]

Heard this on Dave Does Cambodia

The National Bank of Cambodia will now accept older USD bills. The dollars brought into Cambodia do not have to be in perfect condition to be accepted by vendors, stores, etc.

[John Bingham]

It's only in Siem Reap :

Regarding the emergency mechanisms to be implemented in Siem Reap, the National Bank has decided to have 4 mechanisms:

1. Require the Siem Reap Commercial Bank branch to accept old or dirty US dollars without charge from its customers, unless the paper is counterfeit.

2: In case of very old dollar banknotes which should not be allowed to continue to circulate in the market, the commercial bank in Siem Reap shall be sent to exchange for new banknotes at the National Bank of Siem Reap branch free of charge and without the need to wait to send to the head office of the commercial bank in Phnom Penh.

3. Require all banking and financial institutions in Siem Reap to place US $ 20 and US $ 50 banknotes instead of US $ 100 US dollars in ATMs to facilitate their tourist transactions. Deposits on deposit machines are still accepted.

4. Organize outreach to money changers, hotel and restaurant owners to better understand and support the measures outlined above and to cooperate with the National Bank of Cambodia to implement the mechanism further.

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501526964/ ... e_vignette

[Spigzy]

The National Bank of Cambodia will now accept older USD bills. The dollars brought into Cambodia do not have to be in perfect condition to be accepted by vendors, stores, etc.

I don't think that is how it was stated - the NBC asked the banks to accept damaged notes in exchange for new ones, the banks can then in turn exchange those with the NBC in Siem Reap (but I suspect can be extended nationwide).

The vendors/stores will probably still reject imperfect notes as training the massive number of sole traders to control note quality would be an impossible undertaking to be effective. But the NBC can control banks, quality control check, etc. and the banks can train their tellers what is/not acceptable. If you have bad/damaged notes, use a bank to exchange first, and give your crispy Benjamins to the vendors.

[Alex]

It's strange that they require banks to stock their ATMs with $20 and $50 bills again. What's wrong with withdrawing riel?

Other than that I agree. A foreign tourist coming to Cambodia shouldn't have to stress about their dollar bills. As long as they are valid, they should be accepted without fuss.

[mikeukt]

Just something that should be done (have been done before). A ridiculous situation. As for $20/$50 from ATMs. Good, so many places still price in dollars so should be able to use dollars.,

[hdgh29]

It's strange that they require banks to stock their ATMs with $20 and $50 bills again. What's wrong with withdrawing riel?

Other than that I agree. A foreign tourist coming to Cambodia shouldn't have to stress about their dollar bills. As long as they are valid, they should be accepted without fuss.

Various scenarios. For example, I pay my rent in USD, $325, so if I dont have the cash at the time I have to withdraw $400 and hope my landlord has change of a $100 note. I suppose I could draw it out in Riel = 1.3 million...

[Alex]

It's strange that they require banks to stock their ATMs with $20 and $50 bills again. What's wrong with withdrawing riel?

Other than that I agree. A foreign tourist coming to Cambodia shouldn't have to stress about their dollar bills. As long as they are valid, they should be accepted without fuss.

Various scenarios. For example, I pay my rent in USD, $325, so if I dont have the cash at the time I have to withdraw $400 and hope my landlord has change of a $100 note. I suppose I could draw it out in Riel = 1.3 million...

Paying in a combination of dollars and riels never seems to be a problem either, I doubt your landlord would mind getting $300 plus the remainder in riel. I'm surprised people still pay things like rent in cash, but then again, why not!

[Spigzy]

Why would you not just pay it via Bakong transfer? Nobody uses cash nowadays, even the wet market 'mjoo' sellers.

[johnny lightning]

Hmmm. Nobody uses cash these days. Seems to me there were a fuck of a lot using cash a few days ago during the worldwide tech meltdown. IF they had any.

[Bluenose]

It's strange that they require banks to stock their ATMs with $20 and $50 bills again. What's wrong with withdrawing riel?

Other than that I agree. A foreign tourist coming to Cambodia shouldn't have to stress about their dollar bills. As long as they are valid, they should be accepted without fuss.

Various scenarios. For example, I pay my rent in USD, $325, so if I dont have the cash at the time I have to withdraw $400 and hope my landlord has change of a $100 note. I suppose I could draw it out in Riel = 1.3 million...

Paying in a combination of dollars and riels never seems to be a problem either, I doubt your landlord would mind getting $300 plus the remainder in riel. I'm surprised people still pay things like rent in cash, but then again, why not!

My rent plus electric is normally around $525, I always pay $500 in USD and the rest in Riel, not that difficult.
Cash will always be popular while it allows you to avoid the tax man and that is especially the case here.
Almost all my daily purchases are priced and paid in Riel and other than rent time I always get Riel from ATMs. I suppose it depends on your location.
Canadia bank is now automatically opening Riel accounts alongside any USD accounts and their ATM options have very recently altered the options to make it quicker to withdraw Riel from a USD account.