Nepal-India digital payment system launch delayed The much-awaited Nepal-India digital payment system has been postponed until December, as Indian banks delayed the technical work.
Nepal and India had planned to launch the system by November.
“We are technically ready. But the Indian banks are still in the process of completing the technical work on their part,” said Munni Rajbhandari, chief operating officer at the Nepal Clearing House, a payment system operator.
The Indian banks need to update their mobile apps to incorporate Nepal’s payment features, she said. “Once the update is completed, the project will be launched officially,” she said.
“In the first phase, we will begin with person-to-person (P2P) bank transfer through mobile phones between the two countries,” Rajbhandari said.
In June, Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan, CEO of Nepal Clearing House, and Ritesh Shukla, CEO of National Payment Corporation of India International Payments, signed and exchanged a memorandum of understanding on behalf of their respective organizations for a cross-border digital payment system in New Delhi, India.
According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, electronic payment transactions in Nepal totaled Rs4.55 trillion during the mid-September to mid-October period. It was Rs4.60 trillion in the same period last fiscal year.
The first phase of the national payment switch came into operation in November 2021 by establishing a retail payment switch with Nepal Clearing House beginning service after getting operational approval from the Nepal Rastra Bank.
The payment gateway brings together banks and digital payment vendors, allowing them to transfer money. As part of the first phase, 20 banks and financial institutions have been affiliated with the national payment switch.