Currency in Cambodia: what to use and how to exchange

Cambodia is a two-currency country. The US dollar is the working currency for anything above a dollar or two: guesthouses, temple tours, bus tickets, restaurant bills. The riel is the small-change layer. Small purchases are often quoted in riel, and any dollar purchase that does not divide evenly comes back as riel notes.

The mental maths is simple. Treat 4,000 riel as US$1 and 400 riel as 10 cents (check). Shops and drivers use the same round numbers, so you will rarely be short-changed by much. If a bill comes to US$3.50 and you hand over a US$5 note, expect 6,000 riel back rather than a mix of coins. US coins are not used in daily trade (check).

Condition matters more than denomination. Cambodian businesses, banks and money changers may reject US notes that are torn, heavily creased or written on, and acceptance of older series varies (check). Before you travel, ask your bank for clean, recent notes in small denominations. A stack of US$20s is useful; a single US$100 note can be hard to break outside hotels and big restaurants.

Riel is easy to get and easy to spend. You will accumulate it as change within a day of arriving, and you can hand it back for small purchases, moto rides, market snacks and tips. Do not arrive with a plan to convert all your money into riel: you would just be converting back at a worse rate when you leave.

Where to change money: licensed money changers in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and bank counters, generally give rates closer to the market rate (check). Airport counters and hotel front desks are convenient but cost more. If you bring euros, pounds or Thai baht, expect a wider spread than for US dollars. Thai baht is accepted in some places near the Thai border, including Poipet, but acceptance and rates vary (check).

Cards and ATMs work in cities and tourist areas: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Battambang and Kampot (check). Outside those, cash is the only reliable option. Which currencies an ATM dispenses and the per-withdrawal fee vary by bank (check). Take out larger amounts less often, and carry a second card in case one is blocked.

The short version of what to carry, where to change it, and what to expect when you pay.

Carry a mix. A few US$20 notes cover hotels and tours; US$1 and US$5 notes plus riel cover everything else. Breaking a large note at a small stall is difficult and sometimes impossible.

Keep riel and dollars separate in your wallet so you can pay quickly and check your change without holding up a queue. Count riel change in thousands, not individual notes.

Photograph your bank cards and keep the numbers somewhere separate from the cards. If an ATM swallows a card, your bank can act faster with the details to hand.

Agree the price before a moto or tuk-tuk ride, and confirm whether it is in dollars or riel. The difference between 4,000 riel and US$4 is a factor of four, and it is an easy misunderstanding.

Withdraw in larger amounts less often to reduce fixed ATM fees, but do not carry more cash than you need for the day. Split cash between bags and a money belt.

Check the notes you receive from shops and changers, especially US$20 and US$50 bills. Counterfeits circulate in tourist areas, and a bad note is your loss, not theirs.