Not everyone decides to open a local bank account when they move to Cambodia. Should you? We help you break down the cost of taking money out of ATMs, so you can decide for yourself.
Which one will you choose?
Luckily, there are plenty of ATMs to choose from in Phnom Penh, so you can access your foreign bank accounts and buy all of the cheap beers you can drink.
ATM fees have, unfortunately, been going up and up in the past few years. Canadia Bank ATMs used to be free, now it charges $5 per withdrawal. Mekong Bank also used to have no fees and now has joined the $5 per transaction crowd. Unfortunately it sounds like Maybank no longer offers free ATM withdrawals, either.
The rest of us will generally have to pay fees of $4 to 6 per transaction. At the time of writing, of the banks that charge fees, ABA, ACLEDA, and Vattanak have the lowest, at $4, at Cathay United has the highest, at $6. (Additionally, Cathay United’s notification appears to be an advertisement and does not require consent, much to the chagrin of many unsuspecting cardholders.)
These fees add up — withdrawing just four times per month (which, if you have a typical daily withdrawal maximum of $500, means you have a fairly average $2000/month Phnom Penh lifestyle) and you’ll pay $240 per year in fees (plus any fees your own bank can add!).
Are you one of the unfortunate souls with a MasterCard Debit/ATM card in Phnom Penh? There are a few Visa-only ATMs in Phnom Penh, but it’s not that bad. ABA, ACLEDA, ANZ, Canadia, and Mekong all take both Visa and MasterCard and are the most ubiquitous.
Keeping it riel: there are a few ATMs that dispense Cambodian riel.
Most ATMs dispense US Dollars if you use a foreign card. This is really helpful if you are staying in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (and the main parts of Battambang, Kampot, and Kep) where most prices are in USD, but not so much if you are headed to any of the other provinces and lovely towns villages outside of these urban centers. If you prefer to take out riel rather than go to a money changer, ABA Bank and Mekong Bank ATMs dispense riel.
ABA on Street 57 (next to Sunshine Mart, between St 278 and St 282)
Mekong Bank in Phnom Penh Tower (#445, Monivong Blvd, at the corner with St. 232)
(If you use a card from a local bank, you can always withdraw riel.)
Warning: most Phnom Penh ATMs spit out the largest bills possible, and it can be hard to get change (unless you want to be the one in charge of making sure everyone pays their share of food and drink at your next big group dinner). We recommend withdrawing an amount in USD that is not a multiple of $50– taking out $380, for example, will give you four $20s and three $100s rather than the four awkward $100 notes you would generally be saddled with if you withdrew $400.
(NB: Our favorite places to break $100 bills are: Lucky Supermarket, Brown Coffee, and Supercheap. I’m pretty sure they all know this, but they never give us a hard time.)
There are new banks popping up all the time, let us know in the comments if you discover any no-fee ATMs in Phnom Penh.
Advice regarding drawing large bills from ATMs in Cambodia: Typically, I draw monies from ATMs here during the day. I do this whenever possible, for a couple of reasons.
One reason is, if you have any issues, the bank personnel can be notified right when the incident occurs.
The other reason is, you can take larger notes and change them inside the bank (during business hours), after withdrawing from the ATM.
Thus far, no bank has refused to change a large note, into almost any denomination I requested.
Here in Battambang, Maybank recently began charging, as well. $5.00 US per withdrawal.
For those coming from the US, I suggest opening a Charles Schwab account prior to leaving the US.
Charles Schwab has no account minimum, will not charge ATM fees, and *will* reimburse foreign ATM fees – including fees charged at ATMs in Cambodia.
Keep in mind that, by month’s end, if they have not reimbursed all ATM fees to your account, it is because their system did not detect the fee having been added to the withdrawal at some ATMs. So, you may have to contact Schwab regarding this. This is an issue with some banks here.
Maybank started to charge 5 USD for cash withdrawals. Used an oversea visa.
That’s bad news! What country is your card from?
I got the $5 charge notice one time, using a MayBank ATM, and then the transaction didn’t go through. The next day I didn’t get the $5 charge warning screen, the transaction went through, and I wasn’t charged the $5 and haven’t since. If it matters, I use the MayBank ATM in front of Tous Le Jours on Sihanouk and Street 57, at the extreme northern end of BKK-1. Still have never been charged the $5.
I made a withdrawal from a Maybank ATM around the start of April, I made a withdrawal of 690 USD, there was no fee. Today two Maybank ATMs notified a service charge of 5USD & 500 USD limit.. both with my Visa card from the UK.
I put my Visa card into the bank of China ATM at PP airport, it did not notify of a service fee and had a withdrawal limit of 1010 USD.
Yes, can confirm this. Maybank now charge $5 from April 11th. What a shame :-(
I just double-checked and I am still not being charged the $5 fee.
Good for you, what card did you use? I withdrew from Maybank Tower, Head Office Branch at St 144 on Norodom Blvd. Using my Barclaycard (UK) Visa debit card, there was no fee charged on April 9 and 10th, however on 11th I was charged $5. I queried this with the cashier and she phoned up their help centre and they said the fee had been introduced that day. I also tried their Riverside ATM near the night market and there too was a $5 fee
Yep, Maybank just tried to charge me the $5 fee as well. So who is everyone going to use now?
I used ABA. They ‘only’ charged $4 so I bought a beer with the $1 saved and reminisced about free MayBank fees!
The one time when I used an ABA ATM about fourteen months ago, the four dollars they warned me about somehow turned into eight dollars on my bank statement, so I may perhaps be forgiven for not giving them a second chance.
HI, does anyone knows if i can change the withdrawal amount limit in local atm machine? (i have a foreign bank account)
Check with your bank. Most banks have a limit on how many overseas withdrawals you can make in 24 hours, but some of them will raise in on request.
There’s one Maybank ATM on Seam Reap too! Maybank offers free ATM withdrawals for Argentinian Visa debit card too.
On 18 Dec and 28 Dec 2017 ATM MAYBANK and German VISA of DKB: No fees at all.
DKB – Deutsche Kreditbank, German online bank with great service
I have just withdrew from an ABA ATM in Phnom Penh, using my Australian NAB MasterCard traveler creditcard (has only Australian dollars)
I withdrew $390 USD I got 3x$100 + 4x$20 + 1x$10 notes
The ATM charged my only $5 access fees
My bank transition history so far shows only $390 USD
Thanks for all the useful information here.
Sorry I mean the translation history shows only $395 USD
Correction — the second Maybank ATM location is on the south side of street *184*, between 63 and Monivong.
Let’s rap this discussion up once and for all.
First of all, Asian banks are notorious for tacking on fees to any transaction they can get away with–especially to those of their own account holders. So don’t complain when go through all the hassles and you get nailed.
Secondly, you’ve been told numerous times to just get a debit card from a bank in your own country that refunds ATM and currency exchange fees.
I’m not going to name specific ones, but they’re out there.
Have you tried the Maybank ATMs? There’s one (speaking of Phnom Penh) on Sihanouk at street 57, in front of Tous Les Jours, and another on street 178 between 63 and Monivong and, I’m sure, others. They don’t charge a fee at all, so you only pay whatever your bank charges — which in my case is $2.
Also, now that I’ve lived here for a few months, I’m afraid I no longer understand the fuss about breaking hundreds or finding someone to take ratty notes, either one, since the Lucky Supermarket on Sihanouk near Monivong couldn’t care less, as long it’s money.
A warning for anyone using a Citibank visa debit card issued in Australia with Canadia bank ATMs. You are charged 5 USD with no warning and the transaction will show in your account as a 50 USD withdrawal. However when it converts to AUD you’ll realise 5 USD has been added each time. I’m down 25 USD because of this. I had no problems with ATMs in Indonesia or Singapore, both converted back to within a few cents of the exchange rate. A big FU to Canadia Bank!
The ABA ATM on Street 57 near 278 has increased its fee to $5 — and when my bank statement came at the end of the month, it’s curiously $8, instead (not counting the fee charged by my own bank). This is a shame because that ATM was one of my greatest successes of the recon trip I made in February.
All the deals are outside Cambodia. You run with wolves, ya gets the rabies.
Hello there,
I try MB bank (Vietnamese bank) with Mastercard.
No fee at all.
Got 380$
Was 357,20€ on my account.
Exchange rate 359€
I pay the difference rate 1.8€ which is very decent (0,5% of the total amount)
For those who have an account with N26 bank and using MB Bank for withdrawal, you pay no fee at all. Best combination in Cambodia.
Yes effectively I use this combination with N26 in Cambodia.
But when you try N26 with MB bank in Vietnam the operation is systematically refused. It is what I observed.