Cambodia banks

Yeah I have half a dozen accounts there just in case.
I personally know several of the guys in top management in those banks.
Depending on the bank they go from passable to amazing as far as services, fixed deposit interest rates, interconnectivity etc... it's a 3 to 4 hours discussion topic.

Hi does anybody have experience with Cambodian banks?
One guy offered me 3 options and I don't know if it's a good idea

Traditional bank , need to open in person
Cambodian EMI like revolut, opened remotely
Private banking with a lot of privileges, need to open in person

12345 said:

Hi does anybody have experience with Cambodian banks?
One guy offered me 3 options and I don't know if it's a good idea

Traditional bank , need to open in person
Cambodian EMI like revolut, opened remotely
Private banking with a lot of privileges, need to open in person

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Give us more info pls

Quote:
Banking products
Accounts we set up online:
1/ Traditional bank account without the need to go to Cambodia. Opening an account is done online: installation of the banking application, verification and selfie. Then you order a card (UnionPay; soon there will be a Visa card) which we send to Poland. After verification, we get level 1 and a daily ATM withdrawal limit of $5k. We can perform level 2 verification without limits upon request. We receive a dedicated application for the account, using which we convert USDT into $ within a minute and deposit it into the bank account. It works great, tested on a daily basis. In this way, we have two applications on the phone that work together: a crypto exchange office (without KYC) and a bank to which we already receive FIAT. The disadvantage of this account are international transfers, which we have to order and are quite expensive, and the lack of MC and Visa cards. UnionPay card it doesn't work everywhere, but you can easily use it to withdraw cash from ATMs and pay in many places around the world and in Poland. In Asia, it works everywhere, crypto/fiat exchange cost 2.25%

2/ Cambodian "Revolut", a local fintech that works great but without an IBAN account, UnionPay card, limit of $5k per day, $100k can be transferred between users. Crypto/fiat exchange 3%. Here we also do it online, no need to visit us in person.

Accounts set up on site, require personal presence in Cambodia:
3/ Traditional bank account with all account attributes like in Europe, easy transfers, SWIFT, IBAN
MC, Visa, Union Pay cards with limits up to $50k per day. We only open an account in person, the cost is. Account maintenance is free, crypto/fiat exchange 3%. This fee includes a business visa from us, which entitles you to permanent residence in Cambodia.
There is a private banking option in a small bank, but this option must be discussed in person.

Cambodia is not a party to the CRS Treaty and does not report any financial information outside its borders.

What are the fees?

Your service provider sounds a little dodgy, especially option Nr. 1. Option 3 offers PERMANENT residence? LOL, there is nothing like that.

Both the fees are too high, usually it's free to withdraw Riel and USD with the VISA/MASTER/UNIONPAY card, and you pay 2% for the visa exchange fees withdrawing in other currency.
For crypto you can use P2P on binance, fees less than 1% for Cambodian bank withdrawals with P2P.


Option 2), the Cambodian Revolut is https://www.wingbank.com.kh/en/
You can download their app in the google store and open an account with it easy. Don't need to pay anyone for that account.

You can get away with a 6 month visa extension ($160 + $25 for them to create documentation if you haven't any), and NO workpermit at most banks.
You can get a 6 months extension with no WP, to apply for 1 year you need WP.
ABA. Acleda, CAB, etc. all require just 6 month visa extension, some may as for a rental contract >6 months.
Sounds complicated, but if you spend an afternoon bank shopping you'll have 3 accounts at 3 different banks without much trouble.

Oh, and yeah, you can keep and use the account even if you aren't in Cambodia later on.

daniels27 said:

What are the fees?

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500 usd for revolut of cambodia and 1500 usd for traditional bank

Thanks for the valuable info and link to the bank
Yes the provider is dodgy 100% and I don't plan on using their service,

I just checked and wing bank requires cambodian phone number, any way I could get it, virtual phone number ?

12345 said:

500 usd for revolut of cambodia and 1500 usd for traditional bank

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I mean what are the bank fees once the account is up and running? Is it competitive (free) or mainly useful for cases when you do not want to bank in the EUSSR?

daniels27 said:

I mean what are the bank fees once the account is up and running? Is it competitive (free) or mainly useful for cases when you do not want to bank in the EUSSR?

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500 and 1500 usd is the service provider fee. I'm just researching options, don't think banks in Cambodia are competitive in terms of fees or reliability. Main purpose is avoiding EUSSR

daniels27 said:

I mean what are the bank fees once the account is up and running? Is it competitive (free) or mainly useful for cases when you do not want to bank in the EUSSR?

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Don't know the provider's banks, but usually the account is free, as long as you have $10 on it (depending on the bank).
Debit card (visa/master/unionpay) costs 5 USD per year, or you can create a virtual one for free.

One big advantage is also the interest on the money, you could get 3% on the balance and (right now, at Panda Bank - which I haven't dealt with, as branches are only in SV and PP)
whooping 10% on a term deposit of USD. This should negate all the fees as when using the card to withdraw money abroad (2%).

If you don't have any movement on the account for more than 12 months, you'll be charged a dormant fee of $10 per year at most banks.
But you can just move it around Cambodian accounts fee less few times a year and be safe, just a tap on the app and it's done.

After 5 years dormant status, they may close the account. So don't forget about it.
BTW: They even took Cambodia of the 'grey list' for ML now.

cryptofriendly said:

Don't know the provider's banks, but usually the account is free, as long as you have $10 on it (depending on the bank).
Debit card (visa/master/unionpay) costs 5 USD per year, or you can create a virtual one for free.

One big advantage is also the interest on the money, you could get 3% on the balance and (right now, at Panda Bank - which I haven't dealt with, as branches are only in SV and PP)
whooping 10% on a term deposit of USD. This should negate all the fees as when using the card to withdraw money abroad (2%).

If you don't have any movement on the account for more than 12 months, you'll be charged a dormant fee of $10 per year at most banks.
But you can just move it around Cambodian accounts fee less few times a year and be safe, just a tap on the app and it's done.

After 5 years dormant status, they may close the account. So don't forget about it.
BTW: They even took Cambodia of the 'grey list' for ML now.

Click to expand...

Many thanks for the information
How risky do you think it is to deposit funds in a Cambodian bank?

Do you know if there is a way to get virtual cambodia phone number? Since it's likely required to use cambodian phone number for sms verification and I don't know how I would handle it after leaving the country

12345 said:

Many thanks for the information
How risky do you think it is to deposit funds in a Cambodian bank?

Do you know if there is a way to get virtual cambodia phone number? Since it's likely required to use cambodian phone number for sms verification and I don't know how I would handle it after leaving the country

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why dont you take the sim with you and use roaming etc.?

JackAlabama said:

why dont you take the sim with you and use roaming etc.?

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In many countries you need a bank account to reload the sim and a sim to use the bank account. So, it comes in handy having neither or both.

You can set up a bank account in Cambodia if you have a 12mth business (ordinary) visa. You can transfer money into it relatively easily from Oz but you will incur fees at both ends. I found an NAB account was the least cumbersome to send money from, and transfers take about 48hrs (business days) You cant deposit into Aussie accounts from Cambodia but can easily withdraw from your home account via ATMs.

12345 said:

Many thanks for the information
How risky do you think it is to deposit funds in a Cambodian bank?

Do you know if there is a way to get virtual cambodia phone number? Since it's likely required to use cambodian phone number for sms verification and I don't know how I would handle it after leaving the country

Click to expand...

There are like 60 different banks and 79 microfinance institutions, there is no gov. insured amount, so the risk depends on the bank you choose.

Plenty of foreign owned banks, so don't worry, just choose wisely and some older established bank like ABA, Acleda, CAB or Canadia.
In any case, if you worry about too much in the bank there, you could use it as a passthrough account, purchasing P2P USDT with the money you wanna keep in your own custody and keeping just a lower sum in the bank. Cashing out via P2P just takes 5 minutes anyway.

A SIM card is 1 USD. Charging $2 gives you additional 15 days validity, so 1 month is around 4 usd, one year about 50 usd.
You can charge it with any credit card or bank app, rooming works with no problems, you could use and charge it for many years without ever returning to Cambodia.

cryptofriendly said:

There are like 60 different banks and 79 microfinance institutions, there is no gov. insured amount, so the risk depends on the bank you choose.

Plenty of foreign owned banks, so don't worry, just choose wisely and some older established bank like ABA, Acleda, CAB or Canadia.
In any case, if you worry about too much in the bank there, you could use it as a passthrough account, purchasing P2P USDT with the money you wanna keep in your own custody and keeping just a lower sum in the bank. Cashing out via P2P just takes 5 minutes anyway.

A SIM card is 1 USD. Charging $2 gives you additional 15 days validity, so 1 month is around 4 usd, one year about 50 usd.
You can charge it with any credit card or bank app, rooming works with no problems, you could use and charge it for many years without ever returning to Cambodia.

Click to expand...

good info

cryptofriendly said:

There are like 60 different banks and 79 microfinance institutions, there is no gov. insured amount, so the risk depends on the bank you choose.

Plenty of foreign owned banks, so don't worry, just choose wisely and some older established bank like ABA, Acleda, CAB or Canadia.
In any case, if you worry about too much in the bank there, you could use it as a passthrough account, purchasing P2P USDT with the money you wanna keep in your own custody and keeping just a lower sum in the bank. Cashing out via P2P just takes 5 minutes anyway.

A SIM card is 1 USD. Charging $2 gives you additional 15 days validity, so 1 month is around 4 usd, one year about 50 usd.
You can charge it with any credit card or bank app, rooming works with no problems, you could use and charge it for many years without ever returning to Cambodia.

Click to expand...

You are definitely the Cambodian resident expert!

Thank you for sharing

cryptofriendly said:

There are like 60 different banks and 79 microfinance institutions, there is no gov. insured amount, so the risk depends on the bank you choose.

Plenty of foreign owned banks, so don't worry, just choose wisely and some older established bank like ABA, Acleda, CAB or Canadia.
In any case, if you worry about too much in the bank there, you could use it as a passthrough account, purchasing P2P USDT with the money you wanna keep in your own custody and keeping just a lower sum in the bank. Cashing out via P2P just takes 5 minutes anyway.

A SIM card is 1 USD. Charging $2 gives you additional 15 days validity, so 1 month is around 4 usd, one year about 50 usd.
You can charge it with any credit card or bank app, rooming works with no problems, you could use and charge it for many years without ever returning to Cambodia.

Click to expand...

Is there a way to auto charge every 2 weeks?

cryptofriendly said:

A SIM card is 1 USD. Charging $2 gives you additional 15 days validity, so 1 month is around 4 usd, one year about 50 usd.

Click to expand...

Not sure about others, but using Smart - charging just $1 gives you 1 week "validity" followed by an additional 60 days "grace period" where you can only receive SMS/calls (sending SMS/calling disabled). That is just perfect for receiving OTPs, and you never lose your balance. That's what I've been doing for many years - top up $1 every 67 days.

They also have a $2 subscription that increases the validity period to 90 days, but that actually debits $2 from your balance

So one year using this method will be ~ $5.5, and you get to keep those $5.5 in your balance to use when you're visiting.