Government takes a step forward in facilitating international payment; Move expected to promote Nepal's IT and digital prowess

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has made a new arrangement for monetary transactions between Nepal and the rest of the world for any online earnings and e-commerce activities.

This arrangement is believed to assist in payment for online services/ products, e-commerce transactions, and to collect online earnings via advertisement placement on online platforms.

The income received from abroad in foreign currency can be converted to Nepalese currency within the legal banking perimeter. Furthermore, banks and financial institutions can also deposit the Nepalese currency equivalent of the received fund in the mobile banking/ wallet services of Nepalese users.

The government had previously prohibited sending and receiving money abroad for social media advertisement or to collect online earnings from third party sources. Many Nepalese had been sending and receiving funds for such services via international payment gateways. The government had declared such transfer of funds illegal since the transactions aren't kept in legal records, which distorts the true picture of the economy, and the government also can't generate any revenue from such blurry transactions.

To know about what other perspectives that Nepal Rastra Bank has in this initiation, Sharesansar called Dr. Gunakar Bhatta, NRB's spokesperson/ Information Officer. Bhatta says that this initiation is also introduced to promote the IT manpower of Nepal.

He says that the transaction of physical goods is already transparent enough via the customs department. However, NRB felt that Nepal had been lagging behind when it comes to the export of non-tangible services, especially in the IT sector. Entrepreneurs and internet users who have been earning via their online platforms (websites, Youtube, Facebook, online sales, and other sites) currently have to use third-party payment services. Since this is a hectic process that is even impossible to gain access for some, NRB saw it necessary to incorporate online financial transactions in the legal banking system.

Dr. Bhatta also says that this initiation will prove beneficial for royalty payment to foreign countries so that Nepal can join the international stage and not just be a secluded economy.