Visa – the world’s leader in digital payments – on May 11 released findings from its latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study at a press briefing held at Phnom Penh's Vattanac Capital lifestyle Cube attended by journalists from across Cambodia's media outlets.

The results – showing Cambodians are embracing new forms of cashless payment while also continuing to use cash – highlight the importance of Visa's promotion of financial literacy in the Kingdom, said Ivana Tranchini, Visa Country Manager for Cambodia.

“Surprisingly, Gen Z respondents reported the highest preference for cash usage among any group. This reliance on cash among the youth, and the erroneous perception that cash is almost as secure as paying by QR, underscores the timeliness of Visa’s recent initiatives with its Cambodian partners to promote financial literacy,” said Tranchini.

The study found that the use of QR codes to make payments has continued to build, with 68 per cent of consumers saying they use QR for payments, up from 36 per cent in 2021 and 12 per cent in 2020.

Cambodians are also using QR codes for purchases more often, with 68 per cent saying they use them once a week or more, up from 49 per cent in 2020.

This increase shows that the benefits of digital-first payment methods have become a permanent feature of Cambodian purchasing habits.

And many consumers say they expect the Kingdom to transform into a cashless society this decade, with 46 per cent of survey respondents saying they foresee Cambodia becoming a cashless economy by 2030 at the latest.

More Cambodians are also starting to experiment with going cashless. In 2022, 32 per cent said they actually tried going cashless, up from 20 per cent in 2021, and of those, 52 per cent went cashless for at least a week.

"The Cambodian government has placed a strong emphasis on the digitalisation of SMEs [small to medium-sized enterprises], and Visa has supported this with its recent partnership with The Asia Foundation and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs for female entrepreneurs.

"Visa has also contributed to the digitalisation of SMEs by investing heavily to promote digital commerce platforms like delivery and ride-hailing apps.

"So at Visa, we are perfectly positioned to provide Cambodians with the most convenient, reliable and secure payment network – one that enables individuals, businesses and economies to thrive,” said Tranchini.