Nepal is set to receive a new player in its mobile financial space in the form of the Nepali Digital Payment Company.
The unit, which is a joint venture between state-run operator Nepal Telecom and Rastriya Banijya Bank, has applied to the country’s central Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for a mobile money licence, according to Nepalitelecom.com.
As reported by TeleGeography, in July 2020 Nepal Telecom agreed a six-month implementation period with NRB for the technical and legal infrastructure required to operate a full mobile banking offering.
The operator’s managing director Dilli Adhikari has now confirmed that this implementation has been completed. The NRB will accordingly review the system prior to approving the mobile banking service, which is expected to launch towards the end of February once approval is granted.
Nepal has been relatively late to the party regarding mobile money, with regulator the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) only approving directives related to the services in early 2020.