The Ministry of Commerce will collaborate with Wing to integrate digital payment systems into the ministry’s e-marketplace, Cambodiatrade.com, to increase convenience and reduce transaction times for customers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the Kingdom.

The plan was revealed on July 7, during a meeting between ministry secretary of state Tek Reth Kamrong and Wing executive director Manu Rajan held via Zoom to discuss the possibility of establishing a cooperation.

Reth Kamrong appreciated Wing’s interest in working with the ministry, saying: “The Ministry of Commerce in cooperation with Wing Bank will request that the two technical working groups work well together to ensure the connection of Wing Bank’s digital payment system and electronic platform CambodiaTrade is successful.”

According to the ministry, CambodiaTrade is currently open for pre-registration for SMEs in Cambodia wishing to sell their products on the platform to local and foreign customers.

The ministry rolled out CambodiaTrade in mid-June to open new pathways for the Kingdom’s SMEs to sell their wares to a broader audience and capture a slice of the growing global digital economy.

Applicant SMEs must, among other things, be formally registered with the ministry; have valid business licenses, permits and value-added tax (VAT) identification numbers, and sell products made in Cambodia, it said.

Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association president Keo Mom recently told The Post that the ministry’s platform was a positive step to encourage local producers to move their products online.

As online shopping rises in popularity around the world, CambodiaTrade could provide an effective avenue for homemade Cambodian products to reach a wider customer base, she said.

As of end-2019, there were 52,154 formally registered SMEs in the Kingdom, with 824,245 employees, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation.