The central bank of Cambodia is ready to launch its blockchain-based interbank payments platform, dubbed “Bakong”.

According to Chea Serey, the central bank’s director-general, the platform will go live within the current fiscal quarter. Bakong is a quasi-form of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), and it has already seen support from 11 banks, said Serey.

Phnom Penh Commercial Bank is one of the banks that is ready to deploy Bakong across its various branches, says the bank’s president Shin Chang Moo. According to Chang Moo, the Bakong wallet is currently linked to users’ bank accounts to exchange with physical currency. He added that, all the transactions will be made on a real-time basis with the record stored safely at the country’s central bank.

Serey noted that Bakong will bring all players in Cambodia’s payment space under one roof. She claimed that this will make it easier for end-users to perform transactions among each other, regardless of the institutions they bank with.

The central bank has been exploring the blockchain-based payment platform since 2017. During that time, Serey mentioned that the platform would help provide smooth, efficient, safe, and affordable interbank transactions which will be beneficial to all users.

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