July 24, 2019, Kathmandu
China’s Union Pay International has been granted permission to operate as a payment service provider in Nepal.
The regulator Nepal Rastra Bank has approved Union Pay. Two other payment providers from China, namely, Alipay and Wechat, are also trying to perform their transactions in Nepal with tourists being their top priority. Since China is one of the largest tourist sources for Nepal, the Chinese tourists will be using the payment system they are familiar within China. Various merchants in Nepal such as Pizza Hut, The North Face, KFC have already got systems to support UnionPay QR code.
Both mentioned companies have already filed an application with Nepal Rastra Bank for its approval to operate their services in Nepal.
NRB had previously banned the working of these Chinese companies stating that they were operating illegally. Alipay and Wechat had started their services in Nepal without getting the approval letter for legal business from Nepal Rastra Bank. Therefore, they’ve now reached the Rastra Bank demanding judicial approval for operation.
Previously, tourists and even Nepalese had increased the payment conducted via Union Pay, Wechat, and Alipay. The Rastra bank had decided to impose a ban on the debt via these platforms since the usage of such unregistered payment gateways instead of Banks, financial companies, and registered payment gateways had a significant impact on the foreign currency entering Nepal and its management.
They are trying to receive the legal approval because of the issue of foreign exchange misconduct which may arise while conducting business without permission from the Rastra Bank.
