According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two sides, in the near future, users of more than 10 prominent mobile wallets and banking apps, which are payment partners of Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment and digitalisation technology solutions operated by Ant International, will be able to use cashless payments when they travel to Nepal, simply by scanning NEPALPAY QR or other interoperable QRs.
NEPALPAY QR has been implemented by NCHL as per the NepalQR standards published by Nepal Rastra Bank and as part of the National Payment Switch. NEPALPAY QR works as an independent QR scheme and allows QR interoperability at merchant level and network level.
Officials from NCHL said Nepal’s tourism sector has started to pick up as a preferred travel destination for various tourists, and hence a need of seamless digital payments. Digitising payments in Nepal and connecting its retail payment systems globally has been a key focus for NCHL. This partnership between NCHL and Alipay+ for enabling merchant payments is expected to be a major milestone to ease the cross-border transactions.
The collaboration comes as the popularity of Nepal grows as a travel destination. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, a total of 416,069 tourists visited Nepal from January 2024 to April 2024, averaging over 100,000 arrivals per month. With tourists from countries and regions of Alipay+ payment partners amongst the top in visitor arrivals to Nepal, they will have increased payments reach at merchants accepting NEPALPAY QR or equivalent interoperable QR, which includes micro and small businesses, encouraging even more localized experiences.
Representatives from Ant International said that through the support of the Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Clearing House, Alipay+ is enhancing cross-border payments in Nepal, digitalising the travel and payments experience, not just for consumers, but also for local businesses. With travel to Nepal growing steadily and a country known for such diverse culture, being able to easily make mobile payments at even the smallest merchants who accept NEPALPAY QR, will open up new local and unique experiences for tourists, while ensuring more local businesses can benefit from tourism, a key driver of Nepal’s economy.
Introduced by Ant International in 2020, Alipay+ now connects over 88 million merchants in 57 countries and regions to 1.5 billion consumer accounts across over 25 e-wallets and bank apps, allowing consumers to travel and pay hassle-free globally, and merchants to expand cross-border consumer engagement and digital marketing.
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