The National Bank of Cambodia is due to launch a digital payments network during this first quarter.

The central bank’s new digital currency is called Bakong, reports Coin Telegraph.

In essence the Bakong is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that was first introduced on a trial basis in Cambodia last July. 

According to Chea Serey, director-general of the National Bank of Cambodia, the system will be up and running within the current fiscal quarter, describing Bakong as “the national payment gateway for Cambodia.”

“Bakong will play a central role in bringing all players in the payment space in Cambodia under the same platform, making it easy for end-users to pay each other regardless of the institutions they bank with. Eventually, we hope to allow cross border payment through the Bakong system too,” Serey added.

‘Project Bakong’ is already backed by 11 out of the 43 commercial banks in the country. The National Bank of Cambodia predicts more financial institutions will join the platform in the future, reports Cryptopolitan.

Bakong is a closed system, backed by baking authorities, unlike the majority of blockchain-driven cryptocurrencies. Each user’s bank account will be linked to a software wallet, the Coin Telegraph report adds, allowing them to interact with hard currency more simply.

The system does support real-time transactions, and the National Bank of Cambodia stores centralised records relating to the destination of the funds.

In the past, Cambodia had issued requirements for a cryptocurrency business licence, with a Cambodian crypto exchange becoming the first such licenced business back in August 2018. 

At the time, the Coin Telegraph report stated: “For operations of a crypto currency exchange in the Kingdom of Cambodia, it is required to obtain a license from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia and the General-Commissariat of National Police.”