Delay in Cambodia’s Participation in Regional Payment Connectivity (Rpc)

The ASEAN Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) is an initiative that originated from an agreement among five central banks in 2022 as a response to inefficiencies in cross-border payment systems. As the initiative expanded in 2023 and 2024, Cambodia stood out as an anomaly by joining only in 2025, despite having the Bakong blockchain infrastructure in place. Cambodia’s delay stems from domestic decision-making dynamics that prioritize internal consolidation, as well as being influenced by the country’s domestic banking structural conditions. This study aims to analyze the domestic factors of Cambodia’s delayed participation in the RPC. Valerie Hudson Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) theory serves as the theoretical foundation for this research. The study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, utilizing institutional document analysis as the primary data source, supplemented by a literature review. The results indicate that Cambodia’s delayed participation is part of a “Strategic Policy Delay” that integrates calculations of state attributes, bureaucratic capacity, and individual perceptions. The delay is driven by emphasizing aspects of extreme dollarization vulnerability, the synchronization of dozens of domestic financial entities, and the calculation of preventing capital flight as an effective strategy to address integration pressures.