The 20,000 Riel note introduced in 2008 sits at the top of Cambodia's domestic denomination ladder — a position that reflects the riel's sustained weakness against the US dollar rather than any expansion of purchasing power. Dollarization has been a practical reality in Cambodia since the early 1990s, and the riel has never fully recovered the institutional trust destroyed when the Khmer Rouge abolished the currency entirely and physically demolished the National Bank building in 1975.
A watermark as the sole listed security feature is notably sparse for a high-denomination note of this period.
The 20,000 Riel note introduced in 2008 sits at the top of Cambodia's domestic denomination ladder — a position that reflects the riel's sustained weakness against the US dollar rather than any expansion of purchasing power. Dollarization has been a practical reality in Cambodia since the early 1990s, and the riel has never fully recovered the institutional trust destroyed when the Khmer Rouge abolished the currency entirely and physically demolished the National Bank building in 1975.
A watermark as the sole listed security feature is notably sparse for a high-denomination note of this period.