Cambodia forum

Do these ATMs output US dollars or Khmer riels? I am not surprise that there is few ATMs in Siem Reap than Phnom Penh, because of high concentration of businesses in Phnom Penh than Siem Reap. But I am sure there will be more in the next couple years. Cambodia is still far behind in utilizing available technology, just like the implementation of the 3G had been cancelled by Hun Sen, because of someone sent pornographic pictures to his wife and he got pissed off. Also, I think the main reason is that Cambodia do not have phone land-base service in most of the provinces, which is often associated with ATMs. Last year, I went there I had more than $5000 US dollars with me, because I worried running of cash and unavailable of ATMs.

I am sorry if my post had caused any misunderstandings, I am a Cambodian-English speaker, English is my second language, Khmer is my primary language and proud of it. After all I am the survivor of the Killing Fields and I was 7 years old when it happened. I had grown up in several refugee camps in Thailand, education was secondary to survival. There is a saying in Cambodia: knowledge and beauty are the cause of sadness.

Question to #

"Q- Do ATM machines in Cambodia disperse USD?
A- Yes ATM machines disperse US dollars"

Does this mean ATM machines ONLY disperse USD or can one choose for Cambodian Riel as well?

thanks

Anne Mieke

Dv8inpp: Q: There are now 26 ATM's in PP and 7 in SR, which is strange when you consider that SR get 90% of the tourists:

ATMs are not only for tourists, Cambodians also use ATMs.

Q:Does this mean ATM machines ONLY disperse USD or can one choose for Cambodian Riel as well?

Yes. Yes can withdraw Cambodian Riel as well.

blynkingoose,

you obtuse American! (per your request...)

hi. don't be too hard on the state department. it is difficult for any website to be 100% up-to-date accurate 100% of the time, particularly in places like Cambodia, which are changing at light speed.

in any case, we were just in Siem Reap and successfully pulled US dollars out of the ANZ Royal ATMs on two occasions. best of all for us (also obtuse Americans), there was no additional ATM fee and no foreign exchange transaction charge. bonus.

it is possible to pull Cambodian Riel out of these ATMs too, but at least at ANZ Royal, that was only an option for people with local accounts (as opposed to dollars, which are available to anyone with an ATM card). then again, there is little reason to get riel from an ATM, since for all practical purposes the US dollar is the currency of Cambodia and you'll only need riel for smaller transactions. you'll likely get enough riel as change or from exchanging a few greenbacks to cover your needs.

do you have a regular ATM card (as opposed to a Visa credit card)? take that with you and you should have no problem pulling dollars out of your checking account back home (the ANZ Royal ATM will refer to your checking account as "current" or similar - a handy fact to know). otherwise, your Visa card with a 4-digit PIN should also work in the ATMs, but you'll likely have to pay a cash advance fee to your bank.

even if the Visa card doesn't work in the ATMs, you can get a cash advance on credit cards at many banks and even a few jewelers and other shops in countries like Laos and Cambodia.

finally, it is always a good idea to have a few travellers checks with you as an emergency back up. if you wind up not needing them, they are easy enough to spend back home. hope this helps. cheers.

I remember last year in Cusco, Peru, withdrawing $300 from a ATM to pay for the Inca Hike, the machine paid up and I came away with 3 x $100 bills, which isn't too bad except for the fact that one of the bills was considered a forgery by the locals which was somewhat unnerving. The upside was I ended up cashing it in back home, in the UK, which was a great relief.

SO, does this problem occur in SEA.......???

chill
steviej

Posted from within Vietnam.

Hi all - can anyone help me out and let me know what the maximum amount you can withdraw from a single transaction ATM in Cambodia is?

Just been through Thai, Laos, and Vietnam and it's been quite annoying the difference in amounts you can withdraw in one go. ie thai 20,000 baht - which is alot of money, vietnam 2million VND -which is relatively small...

i'm just a bit of a scrooge as with every single transaction we get charged AUS $3.75 - so it adds up when you're counting ya pennies! it's been most annoying here in Vietnam considering 2million dong is about $150AUS! arrhh

many thanks,

Just to add to your ATM sightings, there is one in Sisaphon (1st town heading to Siem Reap from Thai border at Poipet). Didn't use it so I can not add to the debate on $ or Riel or limits, but its there and working!

Thought I'd climb on the cash wagon and get my question in:- So does it mean withdrawing cash with a UK HSBC Maestro card is no problem?

Why strange that Phnom Penh has more ATMs than Siem Reap. Are you suggesting ATMs are only for tourists. Bearing in mind Phnom Penh is the capital city, is much larger and has a much larger population that Siem Reap, and is the main business centre for the country i think it is only natural...

There is no problem at all with Visa cards but you should have a 4 digit number not a 6 digit one. I can't tell you about AMEX cards as I do not have one; they can however be more restrictive for backpacker type travellers because of their higher fees to merchants.