Nepal to ease QR code payments for citizens visiting India

KATHMANDU: Nepalese citizens will soon find it easier to make payments via QR codes while visiting India, following discussions between the central bank governors of the two countries.

The announcement came after a meeting between Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Bishwanath Paudel and Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai last week.

The talks focused on facilitating cross-border electronic payments for Nepalese travelers, along with other bilateral financial cooperation matters.

During the meeting, both sides discussed monetary policy, liquidity management, foreign exchange oversight, artificial intelligence-based supervision, and best practices in information technology implemented by the RBI.

NRB officials, including Executive Directors Kiran Pandit (Foreign Exchange Management), Satyendra Timilsina (Payment Systems), and Dirgha Bahadur Rawal (Bank Supervision), explored avenues for collaboration with the RBI in their respective areas of expertise.

Governor Paudel also met senior officials of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, to discuss the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) initiative, current developments, investment promotion policies, and potential areas of cooperation with NRB.

These steps are expected to further strengthen Nepal-India financial ties and simplify cross-border transactions for citizens of both countries.