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ANZ, Acleda, Canadia, ABA, FTB (Foreign Trade Bank), and SBC, all of which dispense
cash in dollars.
To open a bank account, all you need is your passport (containing your Cambodian visa)
along with a letter from your employer (verifying you work here) or from your landlord
(showing that you live here), and you'll have a bank account within hours. We found the
processsimple,pleasant,andpainfreeandwereprovidedwithanATMcard(withaprofile
photo on the back) as well as internet banking services. Banks are generally open 8am to
3pm or 4pm on Monday to Friday and some are open Saturday mornings.
Onehugedifferencewe'vefoundbetweenlivinghereandinthewesternworldisthatCam-
bodia functions primarily as a cash country. Credit cards are generally not accepted at any
businesses outside of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville, and most transactions
are done in cash. We pay our landlord in cash, pay for our internet services by dropping
into their location once a month to pay (in cash), and never see a bill for anything.
You can also set up online payments for bills such as electricity, water, and internet with
FTB and ABA if you don't want to deal with cash.
Take care not to accept torn bills when receiving change, though. Due to the commonness
offorgedcurrency inthiscountry,manyvendorsandbankswon'taccept evenslightly torn
USdollarbills.We'vehadatornbillreturnedtousbyastreetkidwhowetippedforshow-
ing us around a temple, and our landlady scrutinises every bill in the rent money with the
intensity of a homeless woman searching for a gold coin in a rubbish dump.
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