Bakong Adoption Metrics: Transaction Volume, User Growth, and Market Impact

Bakong's user growth followed a classic S-curve adoption pattern. In the first year after launch (October 2020 to December 2021), registered wallets reached 1.8 million, driven primarily by early adopters and bank-mandated onboarding campaigns. Growth accelerated in 2022-2023 as KHQR merchant acceptance expanded, with wallets reaching 3.5 million by end of 2022 and 5.8 million by end of 2023. The steepest growth occurred in 2024 when registered wallets jumped from 5.8 million to 7.9 million, driven by cross-border corridor launches and the integration of government subsidy disbursements through Bakong channels. By end of 2025, the system surpassed 10 million wallets. The growth rate is decelerating (27% in 2025 vs. 36% in 2024 vs. 66% in 2023), suggesting the system is approaching saturation among the digitally active population and future growth will come from rural and older demographics.

Registered wallets are a vanity metric; monthly active users (MAU) reveal genuine adoption. Bakong's MAU reached 3.8 million in December 2025, representing a 38% monthly active rate. This ratio compares favorably to most digital payment platforms in developing markets, where active rates of 20-30% are typical. The BIS reports that the global average for retail CBDC monthly active rates is 15-20%, placing Bakong in the top tier. Seasonality is pronounced in Bakong usage patterns. MAU peaks occur during Khmer New Year (April), Pchum Ben (September/October), and the Water Festival (November), with December and January showing relative troughs. The highest recorded MAU was 4.2 million during April 2025 (Khmer New Year), when daily transaction volumes exceeded 120,000. The lowest month in 2025 was January at 2.9 million MAU. Understanding this seasonality is critical for businesses and fintech companies building on Bakong infrastructure, as peak periods can require 2-3x normal processing capacity.

Breaking down Bakong transaction volumes by category reveals the system's evolving use cases. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers remain the largest category at 42% of transaction count in 2025, down from 68% in 2021. Merchant payments (via KHQR) are the fastest-growing category, rising from 8% of transaction count in 2021 to 31% in 2025. Bill payments (utilities, telecom, government fees) represent 14%, cross-border remittances account for 8%, and business-to-business (B2B) settlements make up 5%. By value, the picture inverts. B2B settlements, though only 5% of transaction count, represent 35% of transaction value due to large average ticket sizes (USD 8,500 average). P2P transfers account for 18% of value, merchant payments for 22%, bill payments for 10%, and cross-border for 15%. This value concentration in B2B settlements indicates that Bakong is increasingly serving as corporate payment infrastructure, not just a retail payment tool.

Bakong's institutional coverage is a critical differentiator from most CBDC deployments globally. As of 2025, all 58 licensed commercial banks in Cambodia are connected to the Bakong network, along with 8 specialized financial institutions and approximately 35 licensed payment service providers. This 100% banking sector coverage means that any Bakong user can send money to any bank account holder in Cambodia, creating a universal payment network. The network effect dynamics are powerful. Each new institutional participant increases the utility for all existing users. The NBC achieved this by making Bakong participation effectively mandatory for licensed institutions rather than relying on voluntary adoption. This contrasts with Nigeria's eNaira, where only 30 of 89 licensed banks actively participate, or Jamaica's JAM-DEX, where coverage remains limited to selected institutions. The institutional depth also creates a data advantage: the NBC has visibility into the full spectrum of formal financial transactions, enabling better monetary policy and financial stability monitoring.

Cambodia's dual-currency economy creates a unique dimension for Bakong analysis. In 2025, approximately 58% of Bakong transaction value was denominated in USD, 37% in KHR, and 5% involved cross-currency conversion. This distribution has shifted toward KHR over time: in 2021, USD accounted for 72% of value and KHR only 23%. The KHR share growth reflects deliberate NBC policy. The central bank has introduced incentives for KHR usage, including lower transaction fees for KHR transfers and KHR-denominated government salary payments routed through Bakong. The shift has implications for monetary policy effectiveness: as more transactions occur in the domestic currency, the NBC gains greater influence over money supply and credit conditions. For businesses, the currency mix matters because KHR transactions carry lower interchange costs and avoid FX spread, providing a tangible incentive to price goods in Riel.

Bakong's cross-border corridors represent a major growth vector. The Thailand-Cambodia (Bakong-PromptPay) corridor, operational since mid-2023, processed an estimated USD 850 million in remittances during 2025, capturing approximately 57% of the total Thailand-Cambodia formal remittance market estimated at USD 1.5 billion. The average remittance size is USD 195, with peak volumes on Friday evenings and Thai paydays (25th and last day of each month). The Malaysia-Cambodia (DuitNow-Bakong) corridor, launched in 2024, processed approximately USD 280 million in its first full year, with average transaction sizes of USD 220 reflecting the slightly higher earnings of Cambodian workers in Malaysia. The China-Cambodia Alipay+ corridor handles primarily tourist spending rather than remittances, processing an estimated USD 120 million in 2025. Corridors with Vietnam (NAPAS) and Laos (LAPNet) are expected to launch by mid-2026, potentially adding USD 200-300 million in annual cross-border transaction value.

Placing Bakong in global CBDC context reveals its exceptional performance. The BIS tracks 134 CBDC projects globally, of which 68 are in development, 33 in pilot phase, and only 11 have launched publicly. Among launched retail CBDCs, Bakong ranks first or second on virtually every adoption metric per capita. Nigeria's eNaira, launched in October 2021, has 13 million wallets but a reported monthly active rate below 5%, translating to fewer than 650,000 active users in a country of 220 million. The Bahamas' Sand Dollar has approximately 180,000 wallets (45% of population) but processes only a few million dollars monthly. Jamaica's JAM-DEX reports 200,000 users. China's e-CNY, the largest CBDC by absolute numbers, reports 260 million wallets but a monthly active rate of approximately 10%. Bakong's combination of 91% wallet-to-adult-population ratio and 38% monthly active rate is unmatched globally, demonstrating that the NBC's infrastructure-integration approach has produced superior adoption outcomes compared to standalone CBDC deployments.

Based on current trajectory analysis, CamFinTech projects the following Bakong metrics for end of 2026: registered wallets reaching 12-13 million (with multi-wallet ownership becoming more common), MAU growing to 4.5-5.0 million (a 20-30% increase), and annual transaction value approaching USD 38-42 billion. The key growth driver will be cross-border corridor expansion, with Vietnam and Laos corridors expected to add 1.5-2 million monthly transactions within their first year. Three metrics to watch in 2026: (1) the B2B settlement share of transaction value, which if it exceeds 40%, would indicate Bakong is evolving from a retail payment system into a full-spectrum settlement platform; (2) the KHR transaction share, where exceeding 40% of value would mark a significant de-dollarization milestone for the NBC; and (3) the cross-border transaction share, where exceeding 20% of value would validate Cambodia's positioning as an ASEAN payment hub. These metrics have direct implications for fintech companies building on Bakong infrastructure, as each shift creates distinct product opportunities.