Central bank of Nepal bans Alipay, WeChat Pay

NRB, the central bank of Nepal, issued a notice, banning the use of Chinese digital payment platforms used – by thousands of tourists that visit the country – in hotels, restaurants, and shops in certain areas, especially in Chinese-run businesses.

According to NRB, there is no record of how many transactions have taken place through the two platforms, as they are not recorded in Nepal. Over 150,000 Chinese tourists visited Nepal in 2018, helping it reach a landmark of welcoming over a million tourists for the first time.

Lately, tourism has become a major source of revenue in the country. It contributed with 7.8% to Nepal’s GDP in 2017, creating over a million jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.