I noticed an interesting trend from Cambodia — they are actively working on de-dollarization of the economy. The country is gradually removing small US dollar bills from circulation, starting with one-dollar, two-dollar, and five-dollar denominations. The goal is clear: to encourage the local population to use the riel for everyday transactions.

The most intriguing part of this de-dollarization implementation is the change in ATM operations. Now, they only dispense hundred-dollar bills. This makes small payments in dollars inconvenient, so merchants and consumers are simply forced to switch to using the riel for regular purchases. Quite a clever move, honestly.

It turns out that de-dollarization is happening not through bans, but through mechanisms of convenience. Large sums remain in dollars — that’s understandable — but all retail gradually shifts to the national currency. It’s interesting to see how countries find their own ways to reduce dependence on the dollar. Cambodia has chosen a fairly gentle approach, avoiding shocks to the economy. It seems this could serve as an example for other developing markets considering de-dollarization of their systems.