National Bank of Cambodia Banknotes

The National Bank of Cambodia (ធនាគារជាតិកម្ពុជា) operates as the central monetary authority of a system rebuilt after complete currency abolition, notably defined by the reintroduction of the riel following total monetary collapse.

Quick Facts

Country: Cambodia

Currency: Cambodian Riel

Local name: ធនាគារជាតិកម្ពុជា

Institutional Identity

The National Bank of Cambodia serves as the issuing authority of the riel within a highly dollarized economy where the US dollar dominates large-value transactions. Its institutional role is therefore not conventional monetary control, but the gradual re-establishment of confidence in a national currency that had once completely ceased to exist, positioning the Bank as both a monetary authority and a system rebuilder.

Historical Evolution

Established in 1954, the Bank experienced an unprecedented rupture on 17 April 1975, when the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh, abolished money and destroyed the central bank building itself. The institution ceased to exist entirely until its re-establishment on 20 March 1980, when the riel was reintroduced in a system rebuilt from zero, marking one of the only cases in modern history where a central bank restarted without any prior monetary continuity.

Design Philosophy

Modern banknote production is carried out in cooperation with leading international partners including De La Rue, Oberthur Fiduciaire and the National Printing Bureau of Japan, with recent commemorative issues such as the 15,000 riel (2019) and 30,000 riel (2021) receiving international recognition. Issuance follows a strict institutional framework centered on royal portraiture and Angkorian architecture, while technological advancement includes initiatives such as the Bakong blockchain-based payment system aimed at reducing dollar dependence.

For collectors

For collectors, banknotes issued by the National Bank of Cambodia represent one of the most dramatic narratives in numismatics, where total monetary erasure, physical destruction and modern high-security production converge into a uniquely powerful and historically unmatched collecting field.