Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank has issued a new set of digital payment limits for mobile banking, internet banking, wallet transfer, etc. The bank issued Unified Directive Regarding Transaction System 2081 implementing new transaction limits for retail value payment system (RVPS) and large-value payment system (LVPS).
The regulatory bank has made new provisions regarding the transaction limit for mobile and internet banking, inter-wallet transfer, RMIS, etc. The bank has also reiterated another call for interoperability among digital wallets that will make wallet-to-wallet transfers feasible. Here’s all you need to know.
Table of contents
Mobile banking and internet banking
Under the new directive for digital transactions, users can make transactions of Rs 3 lakh a day using mobile banking apps (also including QR). For internet banking/Connect IPS users, the daily transaction limit is set at Rs 20 lakh. Mobile banking users have incrementally grown in recent years thanks to the easy accessibility of smartphones and the Internet. But still, internet banking has higher transaction limits for safety and other reasons.
| Mobile banking per day limit | Internet banking/Connect IPS per day limit | |
| Rs 3 lakh | Rs 20 lakh |
Inter Bank Fund Transfer charges
The federal ban has set different limits on corporate pay, Inter-Bank Fund Transfer (IBFT) for business. These transactions are used for businesses, salary payment, and government payments. These are performed as per the operators’ Settlement Cycle.
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Wallet transfer limit per day and per month
As per the new rule, a user can transact the maximum amount of Rs 2 lakh per day and Rs 10 lakh a month from a bank to a digital wallet. Similarly, a wallet-to-bank transfer limit is set at Rs 2 lakh a day and Rs 10 lakh a month.
For wallet-to-wallet transactions, per day limit has been set at Rs 50 thousand a day. Inter-wallet transfer can’t exceed Rs 5 lakh a month. Also, keep in mind that that one can only load money into the wallet up to 10 times a day. Likewise, a wallet account can have a maximum of Rs 50 thousand overnight balance. Wallet service providers must make arrangements for a scenario that deposits the exceeding amount in the user’s linked bank account.
| Wallet transfer limit | Per day | Per month |
| Bank to wallet | 2 lakh | Rs 10 lakh |
| Wallet to Bank | 2 lakh | Rs 10 lakh |
| Wallet to wallet | 50 thousand | Rs 5 lakh |
You may also want to read: FonePay and NIPL launch Cross Border QR payment between Nepal and India
Limit removed on Prepaid Card and Debit Card payment
NRB has removed transaction limit for payments via prepaid card, debit card, and mobile banking apps. Therefore, there is no limit on payment for goods and services at merchants.
USSD, NFC
Similarly, NRB has set USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) transaction limit at Rs 5,000 per transaction and Rs 10,000 per day. For NFC (contactless payment) users, they can make transaction of Rs 5,000. NRB has also said that users won’t be charged a service fee if they lose or forget their username, password, transaction PIN, etc. These services will come for free to all the users.
| Payment mode | Per Transaction | Per Day |
| USSD | Rs 5,000 | Rs 10,000 |
| NFC | Rs 5,000 | – |
Call for interoperability among digital wallets
With the latest Unified Directive Regarding Transaction System 2080, NRB has called for interoperability among digital wallets. That means once implemented, users will be able to send money to another wallet, among other features. Although the inter-wallet transfer feature has already been launched by Moru Wallet and Hamro Pay. However, interoperability elevates the functionality scope to the next level.
The directive has called on payment service providers (PSPs) to establish interoperability so that money can be transferred from one to another wallet. Due to the lack of this feature, mobile wallet users have to use a bank account or the same wallet service to send money to another account.
Check out: Digital Wallets Can Merge as NRB Clears The Way for PSPs and PSOs
Now with this new amendment of payment limit, we can say NRB has set a new foot for digital payments in Nepal. But more has to be done apart from just increasing the threshold limits. Do you think the new digital payment limits are enough for the users? Do share in the comments below.
