An agreement for digital cross-border payments using an e-wallet is about to be signed between Nepal and India, and it is anticipated that by removing currency complications, it will increase trade and tourism.

This month, when Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal travels to India, the agreement is anticipated to be inked.

The accord will allow Indian tourists in Nepal to make digital payments using Indian e-wallets like BharatPe, PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm. Source IANS

According to the sources, an agreement has been drafted between the two neighbours for this reason and is currently awaiting the official signatures of both nations.

Naveen Srivastava, the ambassador of New Delhi to Kathmandu, stated recently at an event that Nepal's travel and tourist sector would benefit from the proposed Indian digital payment service.

In a survey of Indian travellers arriving by land before the Covid-19 epidemic, it was discovered that their average stay was 5.8 days. Each guest spent an average of Rs 11,310.

The benefit of visiting Nepal is that, according to accounts, one did not need to exchange money.

According to tourism company owners, the introduction of digital payment methods will relieve Indian tourists and businessmen in Nepal of the bother of carrying huge quantities of cash.

In Nepal, the first interoperable and mobile-first cross-border payment system was launched by payment system operator Gateway Payment Service in May.

In order to implement an uniform payment interface in Nepal, the National Payment Corporation of India and its international subsidiary International Payments collaborated with Gateway Payment Service and Manam Infotech.

The system will make it possible to pay for larger digital items and will increase Nepal's interoperable real-time P2P and P2M merchant payment operations.

Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a real-time payment system that offers simple, secure, and private transactions between individuals and between individuals and merchants in India.

Since the system is not yet reciprocal, Nepalis visiting India are not permitted to use Bharat-QR to make payments.

Maha Prasad Adhikari, governor of Nepal's Rastra Bank, recently emphasised the necessity of more fintech cooperation between India and Nepal in order to launch cross-border and QR payment systems for mutual benefit.

"We expect a collaboration between the Nepali and Indian private fintech companies by sharing of the infrastructure and mitigating cyber-related risks, which could benefit both countries," he said.

The central bank of Nepal expressed optimism about both facilitating and enabling roles in the financial technology and e-commerce sectors between India and Nepal.

Although India being Nepal's next-door neighbour, trade between the two nations remains difficult.

In accordance with a recently revised regulation, the government allowed international investors to take part in Nepal's digital payment system in January.