What is the local currency?

Although the official currency is the Cambodian Riel, the US Dollar goes hand in hand and it is widely accepted everywhere. While the US Dollar is most commonly used to pay larger bills, the Riel tends to be used for small payments and purchases. The Riel comes in denominatons of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1.000, 2.000, 5.000, 10.000, 50.000 and 100.000 (although the last two are very rarely used). As there are no coins in Cambodia, it is advisable to carry small riel notes to use it as small change (ie for sums less than 1 Dollar), but there is no reason to change big amounts of money. You can pay almost everything with US Dollars, and you will accumulate Riel as you receive your change in the local currency. We use Riel for tipping.

Small businesses tend to use a fixed exchange rate of 4,000 Riel to the US Dollar to facilitate payments, although 4100-4200 has been the real range for several years. For a more accurate rate you can use this real time currency exchange rate converter.

riel and US Dollars are both widely used in Cambodia.

Riel and US Dollars are the two currencies of Cambodia.

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