Do I need cash in Cambodia, or can I use cards?

Cambodia runs on the US dollar. Hotels, tours, restaurants and most shops price in dollars, and there is nothing for you to convert before you travel. The Cambodian riel does the job that coins do elsewhere: if something costs 3 dollars 50 and you pay with a 5, expect a dollar back plus riel for the rest, counted at 4,000 riel to the dollar.

That 4,000 convention sits a touch below the market rate the National Bank of Cambodia publishes, so you lose a cent or two here and there. It is not worth a second thought. What is worth doing is spending your riel down before you leave, since it is a currency you cannot easily use or exchange outside the country.

This is the one rule that catches people out: the condition of your dollar bills matters. Torn, taped or badly worn notes are frequently refused by shops and sometimes by banks, and a 2025 directive eased this for lightly marked notes without changing the rule for badly damaged ones. Ask your bank for clean, newer bills, and inspect the change you are given, because a note you accept today is a note you have to spend tomorrow.

Keep them small: ones, fives, tens and twenties. A market stall or a tuk-tuk driver cannot break a fifty, and ATMs here are fond of handing out hundreds, which is exactly the note you least want. Small bills also make the easiest tips.

Bank ATMs from the likes of ABA and ACLEDA dispense US dollars, typically for a flat fee of about 4 to 6 dollars per withdrawal on top of anything your own bank adds, with a limit around 500 dollars. Because the fee is flat, one larger withdrawal beats several small ones, and a card that refunds ATM fees removes the cost entirely. If you want notes smaller than a hundred, an ACLEDA machine is the one to try.

Cards are fine at hotels, tour operators, malls and nicer restaurants in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and many places now take Apple Pay, Google Pay or a KHQR scan through the free Bakong Tourist app. Two small things to know: because the transaction is processed abroad, your US bank may add a foreign transaction fee even though the bill is in dollars, and if any terminal or ATM offers to lock in its own rate, decline it. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see tipping in Cambodia, taxis and ride-hailing in Cambodia, and the Cambodia money guide.

Common questions

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More on Cambodia

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Tipping in CambodiaNothing here is obligatory, and a small tip goes a long way. Because you are already spending US dollars, tipping is simpler than almost anywhere: a dollar or two, handed over, in the currency you are carrying.
• Taxis, tuk-tuks and ride apps in CambodiaThe tuk-tuk is how you get around here, and the apps have taken the negotiation out of it. Install one before you land and the fare stops being something you argue about on a hot street corner.
• Common money scams in Cambodia, and what they cost youCambodia is safe for the great majority of visitors and almost none of this is dramatic. Because the country runs on US dollars, its money traps are unusually simple: a fake note in your change, a fee somebody padded, a ticket sold by the wrong person. They cost a few dollars at a time, and a handful of habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• Do US citizens need a visa for Cambodia?Yes, and Cambodia breaks the usual rule. Almost everywhere, applying online in advance is the cheaper route. Here it is the dearer one, and the cheaper route wants clean cash and a photo. Here is what each actually costs, and the official place to get it.
• Staying connected in Cambodia.Cambodian mobile data is among the cheapest in the world. A few dollars buys more gigabytes than most travelers use in a month, which makes the decision here easy and makes our commission argument weak.
• What does getting sick in Cambodia cost?The everyday side is manageable: Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have clinics used to foreign patients, and you walk in and pay. The part worth planning for is that Cambodia stabilises serious cases rather than treating them, so the real bill is the flight to Bangkok.