Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) and Ant International have rolled out a service that enables travellers from 10 countries and regions to use their home payment apps, including e-wallets and bank apps, in Nepal.

The QR-based cross-border payment service, launched at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2024, can be used to pay at more than 875,000 merchants associated with the NEPALPAY QR network in Nepal.

Participating partners include Alipay (mainland China), AlipayHK (Hong Kong), Tinaba (Italy), MPay (Macau), Touch 'n Go eWallet and MyPB by Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Hipay (Mongolia), GCash (the Philippines), Changi Pay and OCBC Digital (Singapore), Naver Pay and Toss Pay (South Korea), and TrueMoney (Thailand).

“This partnership will help foster the tourism sector in Nepal and enable seamless cross-border digital payments for travellers of various countries who choose Nepal as their preferred destination,” comments NCHL chief executive officer Neelesh Man Singh Pradhan.

Edward Yue, general manager for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Ant International, adds: “Standardized QR payments like NEPALPAY QR are a visionary development towards more vibrant and inclusive growth – and with tourism expected to grow even further in the coming year, we’re excited to support our partners and merchants in Nepal and around the world towards a new future of travel.”

NCHL, the operator of the majority of digital payment systems in Nepal, is supported by Nepal Rastra Bank and other financial institutions in the country.

The launch of the cross-border payment service follows a memorandum of understanding signed between NCHL and Ant International in May 2024.