16th Feb 2021, Kathmandu
Until ten years ago, it took three days to clear a search in the Kathmandu Valley. It took Mofasal from one week to 15 days. The testing clearing was performed manually. There was a long line of people who exchanged bank checks.
The Nepal Clearing House (NCHL) was founded in 2008 under the leadership of the Nepal Rastra Bank, realizing that there was a great deal of pressure on the general public to exchange controls in this way. And since 2010, NCHL has been in the process of testing the clearing function. While it was done manually, NCHL began clearing checks within a day.
With the great success of the check clearing, NCHL has developed a Connect IPS and IPS system that does not require a payment check.
There are now options for retail payments, from mobile wallets to mobile banking to card payments. However, corporate clients had to paychecks to the bank branch.
NCHL has now built a framework in which even institutional customers can pay for checks without having to remain in the office. Called ‘Corporate Pay,’ the scheme was introduced on 20 January by NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. On the occasion, Governor Adhikari also declared that the days of the cut-off of checks had come to an end.
Mobile banking and wallets work for the retail sector. Which seems to have been possible from QR. More work is performed by IPS and Connect IPS. Corporate pay has given medium and large consumers the ability to make payments without going to the bank. Digital payments are now being used by the general public. In the coming days, therefore, there is no need to cut the check.
Nilesh Man Singh Pradhan, CEO of the Clearing House, says that consumers who do big business will no longer have to recruit workers to go to the bank.
“Whether it is the payment of salary or the revenue to be paid to the state, all these works can be done from the office. For this, one does not have to go to the bank’s branch,” Pradhan said, describing the company’s pay scheme.
Corporate clients can now make payments through a safe clearinghouse system. Not only does it save time, but it also saves corporate costs.
There are currently 25 banks and financial institutions affiliated with Corporate Pay. Twelve banks and financial institutions have already begun to pay the firm. 100 clients from these banks and financial institutions have already made Rs 80 million via corporate payments.
“From next year, there will be a large amount of business in corporate pay,” said CEO Pradhan.
How did the concept of the ‘corporate pay’ scheme come about? Why is this necessary?
Corporate pay is also one of the different payment systems run by NCHL. There are different types of goods on the market today for retail customers. Whether it’s a wallet card, mobile banking, or a clearinghouse IPS link, the product is for retail customers.
However, such a product was not intended for corporate clients doing big business. Company companies also had to pay by check to go to the branch of the bank today. We began to pay the company to fill the void.
How to avail corporate pay service?
This is a package designed for large and institutional medium-sized consumers. This product will be made available to customers by our member banks and financial institutions. In which up to 200 million Rs can be processed by customers. The transaction limit varies from bank to bank. The clearinghouse has also established a separate system for corporate clients to exchange large amounts of money.
How much can a customer transact?
We have given corporate pay as a digital channel to the customer. However, underline transactions are transacted through Connect IPS and NCHL provided by the payment system NCHL. Today, up to Rs 1 million can be transacted at a time through Connect IPS, and up to Rs 10 million can be transacted with a single bank. In the case of IPS, there is a limit of Rs 200 million for interbank transactions. However, banks can set limits on their own risk.
Up to Rs 200 million payment can now be deducted by check?
Earlier in the day, large customers had been doing business by cutting checks and placing orders with banks. Now they will be able to transact up to Rs 200 million without cutting the check.
Difference between the corporate pay system and the current payment system?
Currently, two systems are used. The bank has also been using the system provided for retail customers. There is a limit of up to Rs 200 million for IPS. Banks have a limit of up to Rs 500 million and the Government of Nepal has a limit of Rs 2 billion. Processing transactions are done through the current system. The transaction is to be done under corporate pay.
What is the corporate pay service fee?
NCHL has developed the infrastructure called the corporate payments system. And, that system has been made available to the bank. We have provided the system to the banks and financial institutions without any additional charges. The bank can fix the service fee by itself.
In the case of the transaction fee, there is a service fee for Connect IPS and IPS. There is a fee of Rs 2 to 15 for transferring funds to Conant IPS and Rs 2 to 10 for IPS.
The challenge is to build customer confidence in large payments, what security measures have been taken?
We have taken a good look at the design of security. Corporate pay is a medium to a large type of business. Corporate rights cannot be traded by just one person. We have also made arrangements to run it through the internet and secure network. Anyone can do business using a secure network when doing big number transactions.
What is the plan to increase the corporate pay limit?
Our understanding is that all types of transactions should be from the same payment system. Looking at the international practice, different types of transactions are done through different systems. We need a wallet for small businesses and mobile banking. Connect IPS is required for large transactions.
Then we have a corporate pay plan. RTGS is required for more than that. We want to digitize payments using everything from wallets to RGTS. Raising the limit alone will not solve the problem.
How many customers have been added to Corporate Pay so far?
There are 25 banks and financial institutions affiliated with Corporate Pay. Twelve banks and financial institutions have already started corporate pay. About 100 corporate customers from those banks and financial institutions have already availed of the scheme. It is only in the early stages now. About 80 million transactions have been made through corporate pay so far. Looking at the market demand, many corporate clients are looking for it, so there is a lot of interest in the bank to join it.
