Kathmandu. The compulsion to carry cash with high exchange rates when traveling to neighboring India for work is gradually disappearing. Carrying cash also increases the risk of theft or robbery during the trip.
While there is a facility to easily pay for any shopping or service in India through a debit credit card issued by the Commerce and Development Bank of Nepal, now it is also possible to pay by scanning a QR code. Nepali customers can now pay for shopping, treatment or hotel accommodation in India through the QR code of their mobile banking apps.
Nepal Rastra Bank has implemented such a facility through the Integrated Circular 2081 of the Foreign Exchange Management Department. The revised circular has made provision for making payments in India and Bhutan through electronic means, including QR codes of accounts opened in commercial banks and national-level development banks. The circular states that this facility should be provided through the retail payment switch for the time being until the national payment switch is fully operational.
Nepalese will be able to make payments up to one lakh Indian rupees per month in other payments, except for payments made at hotels, hospitals and pharmacies. The amount limit will not apply when making payments at hotels, hospitals and pharmacies.
