Nepal Rastra Bank Issues Public Notice on Electronic Payment Systems

8th October 2025, Kathmandu

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), through its annually updated Unified Directives on Payment Systems (the latest being Unified Payment System Directive 2081), plays a central and essential role in shaping the nation’s digital financial landscape.

NRB’s Notice on EPS

The directives are fundamental for promoting safety, efficiency, and widespread adoption of electronic payments across Nepal. These regulations, continuously refined since the Fiscal Year 2076 BS (2019 AD), establish specific provisions and comprehensive limits tailored to various digital payment modalities.

(A) Retail Value Payment System (RVPS) Limits for Individual Consumers

The Retail Value Payment System (RVPS) governs smaller-scale transactions conducted by individual users through ubiquitous digital channels, which include mobile banking applications, digital wallets, QR code payments, and the centralized ConnectIPS platform. The current directives establish differentiated limits based on the access channel:

For transactions initiated via Mobile Applications, which encompass standard mobile banking, payments made through the ConnectIPS app, and QR code-based transfers, the daily transaction limit for a user is set at NPR 300,000. Importantly, there is currently no defined monthly limit applied to the cumulative value of these transactions, suggesting an emphasis on daily risk management while fostering high-volume adoption.

Conversely, for transactions executed through Web Applications, such as the full-featured ConnectIPS web portal and internet banking interfaces, a substantially higher daily limit is permitted, capped at NPR 2,000,000. Similar to mobile channels, the monthly limit for web-based transactions remains open, reflecting the relative security and higher user expectation associated with web-based banking platforms.

Specific limits are also applied to movements involving digital Wallets, which act as key facilitators of the digital ecosystem. Transfers made from a bank account to a digital wallet are capped at NPR 200,000 per day and NPR 1,000,000 per month. The same limits—NPR 200,000 daily and NPR 1,000,000 monthly—apply to transfers originating from a digital wallet back to a linked bank account, including transfers executed using QR technology. Furthermore, person-to-person transfers made between two different digital wallets face a tighter constraint, restricted to a maximum of NPR 50,000 per day and NPR 500,000 per month. These limits collectively represent the NRB’s strategy to balance convenience with regulatory controls and fraud mitigation within the high-volume retail space.

(B) Flexibility in Card Payments for Purchases

A key element in promoting cashless commerce in Nepal is the approach taken towards card-based transactions for purchasing goods and services. The current directive stipulates a notable provision: there is no transaction limit for payments made using domestic Debit, Credit, or Prepaid cards when the transaction is for the purchase of goods and services, regardless of whether the payment is processed via a Point of Sale (POS) machine at a merchant outlet or through an online e-commerce platform. This policy is explicitly designed to encourage the unrestricted use of cards for consumption and business transactions within the country, allowing cardholders to make payments up to their card or credit limit without being constrained by a centrally imposed ceiling from the regulator. This absence of a cap is a powerful lever for digital market expansion.

(C) Exemptions for Government and Institutional Payments

Recognizing the public and systematic importance of utility and government revenue collections, the stipulated RVPS transaction limits are deliberately not applied when payments are directed to government and crucial institutional entities. This critical exemption allows users to complete high-value public payments without restriction on the transaction amount. The list of exempted payments is broad, encompassing critical services such as taxes, fines, and general revenue collections; vehicle registration and road taxes; service and registration charges; and essential utility bills including drinking water, electricity, and telecommunication fees. Furthermore, payments for Social Security Fund contributions, educational fees (school or college fees), and insurance premiums also fall under this exemption, ensuring smooth and unrestricted electronic submission of these large, often mandatory, payments.

(D) Special Provisions for Internal Fund Transfers

The directives also make special provisions for transfers where the risk is inherently low or involves a user’s own funds. Specifically, transfers moving funds from a user’s own wallet to their own linked bank account are not subject to any transaction limit. Similarly, transfers executed between two bank accounts belonging to the same individual within the same bank or financial institution are also outside the scope of the RVPS limits. This policy facilitates efficient personal liquidity management and consolidates funds without regulatory hindrance, optimizing the user experience for multi-account holders.

(E) Limits for Simplified and Contactless Technologies

In a further effort to promote financial inclusion, especially among users who may not possess a smartphone or consistent internet access, the NRB regulates transactions conducted through the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) system. For USSD transactions, which rely on simple feature phone technology, the limits are set at NPR 5,000 per single transaction and a total of NPR 10,000 per day.

For modern, convenience-driven payment methods, the directives also govern Near Field Communication (NFC) technology used for contactless card payments, often referred to as “Tap and Pay.” The limit for a single NFC transaction is set at a manageable NPR 5,000, aligning with low-value, high-frequency retail transactions and balancing speed with security requirements.

(F) Eliminating Fees and Streamlining Recovery

To bolster user confidence and encourage continuous digital engagement, a crucial customer-centric measure has been implemented: no additional service charge is permitted on domestic payments for goods and services when conducted through Debit/Credit/Prepaid Cards, Mobile Banking Applications, or QR Codes. This makes digital retail payments effectively free for the consumer at the point of sale. Furthermore, recognizing the importance of uninterrupted access, the directives ensure that users who forget or lose their login credentials (Username, Password, or Transaction PIN) for digital services such as Mobile Banking, Internet Banking, SMS Banking, or Digital Wallets can retrieve and reset these credentials without any charge through their respective financial institution or payment service provider.

(G) Dedicated Business and Institutional Payment Systems

For corporate entities and organizations, the NRB facilitates large-scale and bulk transfers through specific Corporate Payment Systems. These arrangements, which utilize systems like CorporatePay or the Inter-Bank Fund Transfer for Business (IBFT), are designed with customized transaction limits determined by the bank based on the organization’s operational size and risk profile. These systems are indispensable for essential business functions like salary and allowance disbursements, trade settlements, and institutional payments to the government. Transactions are handled either in real-time or according to the scheduled batch settlement cycle defined by the system operator, requiring interested organizations to complete an application process through their designated bank.

(H) Large Value Payment System (LVPS)

The highest tier of the payment infrastructure is the Large Value Payment System (LVPS), which is directly operated by the Nepal Rastra Bank through the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) mechanism. The primary function of RTGS is the processing of large-value, time-critical transactions on a gross (one-by-one) and real-time basis, thereby minimizing settlement risk. Any single transaction of NPR 200,000 or more can be executed instantly through the RTGS system. The standard operating hours for RTGS are extensive to support the financial markets: from 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM, Sunday to Thursday, and from 8:30 AM to 2:45 PM on Friday. For large-value payments not requiring immediate real-time settlement, the Interbank Payment System (IPS) serves as the complementary bulk transfer mechanism.

In summary, the Unified Directives issued by the Nepal Rastra Bank represent a strategic and comprehensive regulatory framework. By clearly delineating transaction limits across mobile and web channels, eliminating purchase fees, liberalizing card purchase limits, and maintaining specialized systems for government and corporate payments, the NRB strongly supports the twin goals of enhanced financial security and the advancement of a widespread cashless economy across Nepal. These directives serve as the definitive operational manual for all financial and payment institutions in the country.

For More: NRB’s Notice on EPS