Chea Serey

Chea Serey (Khmer: ជា សិរី [ciə serəj]; born 25 April 1981) is a Cambodian economist who currently serves as the Governor (អគ្គទេសាភិបាល) of the National Bank of Cambodia, the first woman to hold this position. She was previously the Deputy Governor (ទេសាភិបាលរង) of the National Bank of Cambodia, which holds an equivalent status to the Minister of Cambodia.

She previously concurrently served as the Chairwoman of the Credit Bureau Cambodia Ltd., which is the first and only privately run credit sharing system in Cambodia, as well as the President of the Cambodian Economic Association, a networking association that brings together economics and professionals in the country for roundtable policy discussions and promotes evidence-based policy making. In addition, she is a member of various policy-driven committees within the bank and at the national level.

Under her leadership, the country's retail payment infrastructure has undergone modernization with the introduction of the Cambodian Shared Switch (CSS) for card transactions, and the FAST payment system, which enables real-time fund transfers between bank accounts in Cambodia. As the chairwoman of the Clearing House Operation Committee, she has spearheaded the Bakong Project, an initiative of the National Bank of Cambodia that explores and introduces a new generation of payment systems using Blockchain technology.

Serey is a staunch advocate for women's economic empowerment and financial inclusion. She serves as a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion's high-level Gender and Women's Financial Inclusion Committee, the Southeast Asia Advisory Council of Women's World Banking, and the Young Global Leaders, Class of 2019, which is a forum of young global leaders created by the World Economic Forum.