Timor-Leste and Cambodia Strengthen Cooperation on Cross-Border Digital Payments
The Central Bank of Timor-Leste (BCTL) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) held their second bilateral meeting on September 12th, 2026, in Dili, signing a new Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on digital payments and to advance cross-border payment connectivity between the two countries.
BCTL Governor Hélder Lopes and NBC Governor Chea Serey co-chaired the meeting, building on the institutional cooperation established under the first Memorandum of Understanding, signed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in July 2024.
The 2024 agreement established a framework for cooperation across areas including central bank operations, payment networks and systems, digital financial innovation, banking supervision, financial sector development, and human resources capacity building. The two institutions also agreed to hold annual bilateral meetings, alternating between the two countries, to assess progress and identify new areas of cooperation.
During the meeting in Dili, the delegations reviewed the implementation of commitments made since 2024, exchanged information and experiences, and discussed priorities for the next phase of cooperation.
On the same day, the BCTL and the NBC signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on digital payments and cross-border connectivity. The agreement lays the groundwork for developing mechanisms that will, in future, enable payments and transfers between Timor-Leste and Cambodia via digital systems, including the use of QR codes.
NBC Governor Chea Serey said, “Cambodia is proud to be the first country to sign an agreement of this nature with Timor-Leste,” adding that the agreement reached “reflects the trust between our two countries and our shared conviction that no economy can prosper in isolation.”
According to Chea Serey, this cooperation should make it easier for citizens and businesses in both countries to make payments and transfers in future. “I believe this Memorandum of Understanding will one day allow Timor-Leste and Cambodia to make payments, transfers, and transactions as easily as we do in our own country,” she said.
The Governor also noted that future integration of the systems could facilitate commercial transactions and remittances. “Our companies will be able to trade with fewer barriers. Our remittance corridors will become faster, cheaper, and safer for the families who depend on them,” she added.
BCTL Governor Hélder Lopes explained that the agreement with Cambodia is part of the process of strengthening the link between Timor-Leste’s payment systems and those of countries in the region, and announced that a similar agreement with Indonesia is scheduled to be signed later this month.
“Today we began by signing the agreement with Cambodia, and later this month we will also sign an agreement with Indonesia,” stated Hélder Lopes.
The signing of the new Memorandum took place on the same day as the launch of Timor Unique QR (TUQR), the national standard for digital payments via QR code, and marks a first step towards the future use of this system in cross-border transactions with countries with which Timor-Leste establishes interoperability mechanisms.
The delegation from the National Bank of Cambodia comprised Governor Chea Serey, Deputy Governor Yiem Leat, and other representatives of the institution. Representing the Central Bank of Timor-Leste were Governor Hélder Lopes, Vice-Governors Rafael Borges and Sara Lobo Brites, and BCTL Executive Directors.
Cooperation between the two central banks will continue within the framework of the signed memoranda of understanding and the annual bilateral meetings agreed by both institutions.
