Cambodia's De-Dollarization Effort Aims to Boost Local Currency Use

Cambodia is taking steps to promote the use of its local currency, the riel, by implementing a small-scale de-dollarization initiative. According to NS3.AI, the country plans to phase out smaller US dollar bills, specifically $1, $2, and $5 denominations, to encourage merchants and consumers to use the riel for everyday transactions. As part of this initiative, ATMs will now dispense only $100 bills, making small-dollar transactions less practical and steering daily currency circulation towards the riel. This move is intended to increase the use of the riel in daily transactions while reserving US dollars for larger payments.