Nepal Clearing House is a public limited company under the guidance of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), also known as the Central Bank of Nepal. The company has selected the ACI Enterprise Payments Platform for the National Payment Switch (NPS) it plans to establish. The NPS will include interoperability of card-based transactions (NPS National Card Switch or NPS-NCS). Additionally, Nepal Clearing House will roll out a domestic card scheme for Nepal called NEPALPAY.
As the official press release shows, currently, domestic card transactions in Nepal are routed through international payment gateways. With the establishment of this card payment central infrastructure, banks and financial institutions in Nepal will be able to provide NEPALPAY cards to their customers. This move is expected to increase the acceptance of these cards, implement data localisation and reduce transaction charges.
NPS-NCS and NEPALPAY are part of the National Payment Switch (NPS) initiative. This initiative aims to provide a core infrastructure for routing and settlement of retail transactions, ensuring interoperability of card and non-card-based payments within Nepal. The Retail Payment Switch (RPS) for handling retail (non-card) transactions and retail instruments is already in place, including an interoperable domestic scheme of NEPALPAY QR. NPS-NCS and NEPALPAY are expected to be launched in the last quarter of 2024.
Moreover, as the press release further details, NCHL is at the forefront of transforming the digital payments landscape in Nepal, with ACI Worldwide being a trusted partner for the company, providing scalable solutions and transformative payment capabilities. In addition, the ACI Enterprise Payments Platform is developed as an end-to-end payments hub solution that can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, enabling banks to future-proof their payments infrastructure.
ACI currently powers 25 domestic and pan-regional real-time schemes across six continents, including nine central infrastructures, providing solutions to central banks, participant banks, fintech and other payment service providers.
As the official announcement explains, Nepal's transition from a cash-based economy to an expanding digital payment ecosystem has been a long journey, positively impacting financial inclusion and economic development. Moreover, according to the Nepal Financial Inclusion Report 2023, the percentage of adults using formal financial services has surged from 61% in 2014 to 90% in 2022. Of these, 81% utilise banking services, and 9% opt for other formal financial services. This signifies an increasing adoption of financial instruments and a shift towards digital payments.
Commenting on this, ACI Worldwide stated that Nepal is going through major growth in digital payment, transitioning towards a complete digital ecosystem required for a sustainable economy. Contributing to this, NCHL invests in innovative technologies, partnering with ACI for resilient solutions that aim to contribute to Nepal's digital payment strategy development.
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