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Agreement for Cross-Border Digital Payments to be Signed by Nepal and India
A new agreement will make it easier for Indian visitors to Nepal to exchange currencies.
Nepal to Accept Indian E-Wallets for Online Payments.
With the elimination of currency exchange concerns, Nepal and India are getting ready to sign an agreement that will permit cross-border digital payments through e-wallets. This will increase trade and tourism between the two nations. The agreement will enable Indian tourists in Nepal to use Indian e-wallets like BharatPe, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm to make digital payments. It is anticipated to be signed during Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India.
The deal has been agreed upon by both countries, and officials from both are awaiting signatures. The introduction of digital payment services will relieve Indian tourists and businessmen in Nepal of the burden of carrying large amounts of cash, and it is expected to increase inter-operable real-time person-to-person (P2P) and merchant payment transactions (P2M) in Nepal.
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Improve Payment Transactions in Nepal with a Unified Payment Interface
In order to deploy a unified payment interface in Nepal last year, the National Payment Corporation of India and its international arm International Payments worked with Gateway Payment Service and Manam Infotech. This provided Nepal with the country’s first cross-border payment system based on inter-operable and mobile-first technology.
In Nepal, the system will improve interoperable real-time P2P and P2M payment transactions and make payments for larger digital goods easier. Although Nepal and India are close neighbors, financial transactions between the two countries have been difficult. However, thanks to this agreement, Indian tourists will find it easier to visit Nepal, which will help the country’s travel and tourism sector.
Mika Singh salutes PM Modi while using Indian currency at the Doha airport.
Another significant development is the recent approval of Singapore and Thailand for India’s UPI digital payment system.
Singer Mika Singh posted on Twitter on Wednesday that he was able to use Indian currency while shopping at a luxury store at Doha airport in Qatar. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “giving us the ability to use our money like dollars.” The tweet was sent out in the morning and has since received nearly 1.60 lakh views and over 5,400 likes. Twitter users reacted positively to the news, applauding the move and thanking Mika Singh for publicising it.
“Good morning, everyone. I was so proud to be able to use Indian rupees in the @LouisVuitton store at #Dohaairport. Rupees can also be used in any restaurant. Isn’t that fantastic? Mika Singh tweeted, “A massive salute to @narendramodi saab for allowing us to use our money like dollars.”
In addition to Qatar, Dubai Duty Free also takes Indian rupees as payment. According to a report from The National, the new regulation went into effect on July 1, 2019, and the currency is now accepted at all points of sale in Terminals 1, 2, and 3 of the Dubai International airport as well as at Al Maktoum International airport. Customers receive their change in UAE dirhams rather than rupees, though.
Business Insider published an article in 2022 with a list of nations that accept Indian rupees. These include Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Maldives. However, there are limitations on the dollar amounts of Indian currency that can be used in each nation.
Another significant development is the recent approval of Singapore and Thailand for India’s UPI digital payment system. A contract was signed in February by the two nations.
Real-time cross-border payments were made possible for the first time in India and Singapore’s payment systems were linked. Singapore is the source of nearly 6% of all remittances to India.
In January, UPI transactions reached a record high of more than 8 billion transactions totaling nearly 13 lakh crore. It is India’s top payment method.
To expand UPI internationally, the government has also made a number of other moves. The RBI made the announcement about G-20 visitors being able to use UPI payments to shop in India during the same month. The government announced last month that beginning on April 30, Indians living in ten other nations would have access to UPI.
