Prabhu Bank Launches Tihar Cashback Offer for Bhaitika Gifts
21st October 2025, Kathmandu
As Nepal lights up to celebrate Tihar, the cherished Festival of Lights, Prabhu Bank Limited is seamlessly merging age-old tradition with modern digital convenience.
Prabhu Bank Bhaitika Offer
In a strategic move to encourage the adoption of cashless transactions, the bank has announced a special festive campaign centered around the most heartfelt day of the festival: Bhaitika. This innovative offer aims to transform the tradition of giving Bhaitika gifts by rewarding customers who choose the ease and security of digital payments.
The promotion, designed for users of the Prabhu Bank mobile banking app, specifically targets sibling fund transfers made via the Fonepay Direct platform. By simply sending money to their sisters and using the designated remark “UPAHAR” (meaning ‘gift’), customers will be entered into a draw to win a generous Rs. 500 cashback. With 25 lucky winners slated to receive this bonus, the campaign not only adds a touch of excitement to the gifting ritual but also significantly strengthens Prabhu Bank’s position as a leader in digital banking adoption in Nepal.
The Cultural Heart of Bhaitika: Tradition Meets Technology
Bhaitika marks the fifth and final day of the Tihar festival, holding immense cultural and emotional significance as the day dedicated to honoring the unbreakable bond between brothers and sisters. The sister performs an elaborate ritual, applying a seven-colored Saptarangi Tika to her brother’s forehead and offering blessings for his long life, prosperity, and protection from the God of Death, Yama. In return, the brother expresses his love and lifelong commitment to his sister’s well-being by presenting her with gifts, often in the form of cash or valuables.
The transition of the traditional Dakshina (cash gift) into a digital transfer aligns perfectly with Nepal’s rapidly advancing payment ecosystem. By leveraging the Fonepay network, which facilitates instant fund transfers between participating banks, Prabhu Bank is making this exchange of love easier and safer, particularly for families separated by distance. This move addresses the modern need for convenience during a time when travel and gathering can be complex, ensuring the spirit of Upahar remains uninterrupted. The cashback incentive serves as a direct, tangible reward for making the switch to digital, accelerating the habit of cashless transactions among a wider user base.
Accelerating Digital Banking Through Festive Campaigns
The decision by Prabhu Bank to tie a promotional offer to a major festival like Tihar is a proven, high-impact strategy used by financial institutions across Nepal. Major festivals like Dashain and Tihar are historically periods of peak economic activity, family gatherings, and high cash circulation. By inserting digital incentives during these culturally significant moments, banks effectively drive a surge in mobile banking and digital wallet usage.
The bank’s campaign is a clear effort to increase the volume of Fonepay Direct transactions, which are essential to the nation’s goal of achieving a cashless economy. Fonepay Direct, as part of the broader digital payment infrastructure, allows for seamless, instantaneous bank-to-bank transfers. This particular campaign leverages the emotional context of gifting to normalize inter-bank digital transfers for personal, non-commercial purposes. The simple requirement of adding the “UPAHAR” remark not only tracks the promotion’s success but also creates a psychological link between the act of gifting and the use of the mobile app, reinforcing positive user behavior.
This innovative approach by Prabhu Bank contributes to the larger trend observed in Nepal’s banking sector, where festive campaigns are the primary mechanism for financial inclusion and the promotion of digital literacy. As the number of mobile banking customers and the volume of digital transactions continue their upward trajectory—a trend heavily accelerated by events like the recent pandemic and supported by favorable directives from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)—offers like this help cement digital platforms as the preferred payment method for all aspects of daily life, from utility bills to cherished family gifts.
Key Takeaways: Impact on Nepal’s Digital Ecosystem
The Prabhu Bank Tihar Cashback Offer represents more than just a promotional giveaway; it is a vital step in the evolution of Nepal’s financial landscape:
Financial Inclusion: By making the gifting process digital, the bank is including those who may not be physically present to celebrate, bridging geographical gaps with technology and ensuring that the tradition of Dakshina is accessible to all.
Encouraging Fonepay Direct Usage: The campaign directly encourages the use of a key digital infrastructure (Fonepay Direct), which is crucial for high-value and person-to-person transfers, thereby boosting the overall health of the national payment system.
Culturally Relevant Marketing: By grounding the campaign in the emotional and cultural relevance of Bhaitika, Prabhu Bank maximizes engagement and goodwill, making the adoption of digital tools feel like an enhancement of tradition, not a replacement.
The success of such targeted festive campaigns demonstrates how financial technology can be successfully woven into the cultural fabric of Nepal, making digital payments a celebratory, convenient, and rewarding part of one of the nation’s most important holidays.
For More: Prabhu Bank Bhaitika Offer
